NEW YORK – Assemblymember Michaelle Solages, together with New York Attorney General Letitia James, Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, Senator Rachel May, and Assemblymember Emérita Torres, today rallied with the United Food and Commercial International Workers Union (UFCW) Local 1500, the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU), and AARP New York to call for the passage of the One Fair Price Package. The One Fair Price Package consists of two bills that would protect New Yorkers from surveillance pricing – an unfair pricing scheme in which companies use personal data to set individualized prices for consumers.

The Protecting Consumers and Jobs from Discriminatory Pricing Act, carried by Assemblymember Solages and Deputy Majority Leader Gianaris, would ban the use of electronic shelf labels and prohibit surveillance pricing in grocery stores and pharmacies. The One Fair Price Act, sponsored by Assemblymember Torres and Senator May, would ban surveillance pricing in New York.

"It is appalling that companies are trying to nickel and dime New Yorkers by using their personal information to dictate how much they should pay for bare necessities like groceries and medication. Even worse, this kind of systematic overcharging can lead to discrimination based on a consumer's race, finances, and the neighborhood they call home. That is why I am proud to sponsor legislation in the One Fair Price Package. These bills will ensure every New Yorker pays the same price as anyone else, protecting everyday shoppers' wallets instead of corporations' bottom line." Said Assemblywoman Michaelle C. Solages, Chair of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus and sponsor of Protecting Consumers and Jobs from Discriminatory Pricing Act.

“New Yorkers are already facing higher prices everywhere they look, and big companies do not need yet another way to hurt families’ wallets,” said Attorney General James. “A new mother in urgent need of diapers should not be paying more because an algorithm has tracked her purchasing habits and recognized that she would be willing to pay a higher price, and retailers cannot erase good paying union jobs in favor of electronic shelf labels that allow prices to change. I am grateful to Deputy Majority Leader Gianaris, Senator May, Assemblymember Torres, and Assemblymember Solages for their partnership in fighting to keep New York affordable.”

“A future where companies use every piece of data they can find to maximize the price every consumer will pay for goods is one we must prevent for New Yorkers,” said Senator May. “My bill would end surveillance pricing, where companies use your personal information to decide how much to charge you. Thank you to Attorney General Letitia James, a true leader in protecting New Yorkers, for including my bill in the One Fair Pricing Package and for her commitment to protecting New Yorkers from unfair business practices.”

“New Yorkers deserve to know that the price they see is the price everyone sees and pays,” said Assemblymember Torres. “The One Fair Price Act takes a critical and necessary step toward protecting consumers from corporations that use personal data and opaque algorithms to charge people different prices for the same product. At a time when New York families are already struggling with the cost of living, we must ensure transparency and fairness in our digital marketplace. This legislation puts consumers first by stopping corporations' surveillance pricing and ensuring New Yorkers are not being digitally profiled and financially squeezed to their limit.”

Surveillance pricing, sometimes called algorithmic pricing, occurs when companies use individuals’ private data to set unique prices for different consumers, and often results in consumers paying more for essential products. Online platforms collect thousands of points of data about every consumer, from their usual purchases to when they receive their paycheck or benefits to even how long they hover over a product online. Companies then use this information to inform pricing algorithms that continuously update to estimate the highest price a consumer is likely willing to pay at any given moment. As a result, two shoppers could visit the same website at the same time and see two different prices for the exact same product.

Research shows that surveillance pricing is already impacting everyday purchases. A recent study involving hundreds of shoppers ordering groceries online found that 74 percent of grocery items were offered to consumers at multiple different prices, and some items were offered at up to five different prices at the same time.

Surveillance pricing is not limited to shopping online. Electronic shelf labels (ESLs) allow companies to change prices in-store, so that one shopper could buy a gallon of milk at one price while another shopper will pay more for the same gallon later that same day. ESLs do not only harm consumers trying to make ends meet while prices continue to rise, but they also threaten the livelihoods of grocery store workers, as they could eliminate the work of grocery clerks.

The bills in the One Fair Price Package would protect New York consumers and their families by banning surveillance pricing that uses personal data to set individualized prices for consumers and ensure that it’s the products that have prices, not the people.

The One Fair Price Act (S.8623/A.9349) will ban surveillance pricing and prohibit the use of consumers’ personal data to set individualized prices to ensure New Yorkers are charged the same price for the same product.

The Protecting Consumers and Jobs from Discriminatory Pricing Act (S.8616/A.9396) will protect consumers and workers alike by prohibiting the use of ESLs and surveillance pricing in grocery stores and pharmacies.

The One Fair Price Package will authorize OAG and impacted New Yorkers to bring civil cases for penalties and restitution against companies or retailers that use surveillance pricing. These bills have been introduced in the State Senate and Assembly, and Attorney General James will work with legislative leaders and the bills’ sponsors to advance the legislation and ensure it is signed into law, so New York consumers are protected from this predatory practice.