New York City lawmakers are taking a swing at high tech grocery tactics, rolling out a pair of bills Thursday that would block so called "surveillance pricing" systems that use shoppers' personal data and digital shelf tags to quietly charge different customers different prices. The package, led by Speaker Julie Menin and Majority Leader Shaun Abreu, would bar retailers from using personal data to set individualized prices and cap how often stores can raise prices in a single day. Backers say the move could make New York the first major U.S. city to put hard limits on algorithm driven pricing for everyday essentials.
"New Yorkers deserve transparency and fairness when purchasing essential goods," Menin said, calling the bills "commonsense guardrails" against companies that use personal data to manipulate what people pay. Abreu warned that "groceries are already expensive enough" and argued shoppers should not have to worry about prices creeping up while they walk the aisles, according to a New York City Council press release. The Council said the May 14 package contains two measures designed to tackle both individualized, algorithmic price discrimination and rapid, algorithm driven markups inside stores.
What The Bills Would Do
The first bill would broadly outlaw surveillance pricing by banning the use of device tracking, browsing history, biometric monitoring or purchase history to set individualized fees, while still allowing familiar loyalty programs and clearly advertised discounts, according to a press release from the Office of the Attorney General. Supporters say those carve outs are meant to preserve straightforward promotions for seniors, veterans and low income shoppers while shutting down opaque, data driven price discrimination. Advocates are pitching the measure as a way to keep shoppers from being profiled by algorithms at the checkout line.
Limits On Rapid Price Changes
The second bill, sponsored by Majority Leader Abreu, would bar grocery stores from increasing the price of an item more than once within a 24 hour period and directly targets electronic shelf labels that can update prices almost instantly, the City Council said. Supporters argue the limit still lets stores react to real market shifts but blocks minute by minute algorithmic markups that could quietly hit shoppers as they browse. Opponents and some industry groups counter that the rules will raise tricky implementation questions and could invite legal challenges that turn on how exemptions are drafted.
Where This Fits Nationally
City Hall is stepping in as part of a broader national push. Earlier this year, U.S. senators introduced the Stop Price Gouging in Grocery Stores Act to ban surveillance pricing and restrict electronic shelf labels in large retailers, and on April 28, 2026, Governor Wes Moore signed Maryland's Protection From Predatory Pricing Act, billed as the first state law to curb dynamic, data driven grocery pricing, according to Senators Luján and Merkley and the Office of Governor Wes Moore. Those federal and state moves give New York lawmakers both a template and a sense of urgency as the technology spreads and major chains weigh broader rollouts. Labor groups and consumer advocates have been among the loudest voices calling for guardrails.
What Research Says
Academic research paints a more tangled picture. A recent multi institution working paper that examined transaction data around retailers' adoption of electronic shelf labels found "virtually no surge pricing" after the systems went live, even while acknowledging they have the technical capacity for rapid price changes. The study, co authored by researchers at UC San Diego, Northwestern and UT Austin, suggests the digital tags have so far been used more often for markdowns and inventory management than for real time price hikes. Local coverage in Portland has captured both shopper unease and industry claims that the tags reduce waste and make price updates more accurate, according to the UC San Diego working paper and a recent Portland shoppers sound off report.
Legal And Enforcement Questions
Exactly how any new rules would be enforced is still an open question. The state One Fair Price package would give the Attorney General authority to seek penalties and restitution from companies that engage in surveillance pricing, according to the Attorney General's office, while Maryland's law creates a civil enforcement framework with specific penalties. Legal analysts say the fine print on exemptions, whether private lawsuits are allowed and how technical terms are defined will likely determine how courts and regulators interpret the reach of any ban.
For now, the New York City bills amount to a high profile early attempt to keep algorithmic pricing out of routine grocery runs. Council members are pitching the measures as consumer protection tools, while lawmakers in Albany and in Congress work on parallel proposals. Upcoming committee hearings will shape the final language, and both advocates and retailers say they will be watching closely to see where the city ultimately draws the line.
