New Jersey Bans Grocery Stores from Using Shoppers’ Personal Data to Set Prices

New Jersey has banned grocery stores from using shoppers’ personal data to set different prices for the same items, a practice often called “surveillance pricing.” The Fair Price Protection Act prevents retailers and food delivery services from charging individuals based on what algorithms predict they’re willing or able to pay using data collected from web activity, in-store sensors, cameras, or biometric or genetic information. The law includes exceptions for certain broad discounts, and it pauses electronic shelf labels for one year while the state studies impacts.