Two US states now limit how shops can use personal data to set prices. Both laws took effect on 1 October.
In Maryland, grocery stores of at least 15,000 square feet and grocery delivery services may no longer use a shopper’s personal data, or “dynamic pricing” built on it, to charge particular customers more for food, according to legal summaries of the law. Promotions, loyalty programmes and price differences based on real costs such as delivery are still allowed. The state Attorney General enforces it: businesses get 45 days to fix a problem, then face fines of up to $10,000 per violation.
Connecticut’s rules, part of a wider privacy law (Public Act 26-64), reach further. Retailers and food delivery platforms may not set a customised price for a shopper based on personal data collected about them. Broadly available discounts, and price changes driven by costs or demand, are exempt. A business that raises a price this way must also show a notice saying so.
Why it matters: AI makes it cheap to set a different price for every shopper. In December, Instacart ended AI price tests after a study said some shoppers paid up to 23% more for the same item. New York already requires a disclosure, while Colorado’s governor vetoed a broader ban in June.
Read Maryland’s bill: Maryland General Assembly, HB 895