Yes to California's Bill to Ban Surveillance Pricing
Original reporting by Electronic Frontier Foundation
Corporations routinely collect vast amounts of our personal data—from browsing history to physical location—and increasingly leverage it for profit in concerning new ways. One insidious manifestation is "surveillance pricing," a practice where businesses offer the same product to different individuals at varying prices, meticulously tailored based on their digital dossiers. This opaque discrimination erodes privacy, exacerbates inequities, and undermines market transparency.
Real-world impact
Imagine paying more for test prep because of your zip code, or a hotel room simply because you own an Apple device. These aren't hypothetical scenarios; they are documented instances of surveillance pricing impacting everything from ride-sharing fares in non-white neighborhoods to dating app subscriptions for older users. A 2025 FTC report revealed how third-party data brokers and service providers enable this sophisticated profiling, segmenting customers to optimize profit at the individual level. While the federal response has wavered, the California Attorney General has initiated an investigation, signaling growing regulatory concern.
In response to this pervasive threat, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) strongly advocates for California's S.B. 2564. This groundbreaking legislation seeks to outright ban surveillance pricing, defining it as any customized price based on electronically collected personally identifiable information. With provisions for both government enforcement and individual lawsuits, the bill represents a crucial step towards safeguarding consumer rights and upholding the fundamental principle that privacy is not a commodity to be bought or sold.
California's A.B. 2564 represents a pivotal legislative step against surveillance pricing, a practice that epitomizes the unchecked, opaque monetization of personal data. By seeking to ban customized pricing based on sensitive information like browsing history and physical location, the bill directly confronts a system that invades privacy, fosters inequity through discriminatory pricing strategies, and undermines market transparency. Its passage would not only shield consumers from these manipulative tactics, often hidden from public view, but also send a powerful signal about the imperative of data ethics and consumer sovereignty in an increasingly digital economy. It aligns with a growing consensus that robust regulatory frameworks are essential to protect individual autonomy against pervasive corporate data harvesting.