{"id":7117,"date":"2026-08-18T10:38:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T10:38:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7117"},"modified":"2026-08-18T10:38:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T10:38:24","slug":"chabria-surveillance-pricing-is-legal-gouging-california-legislators-dont-seem-to-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7117","title":{"rendered":"Chabria: \u2018Surveillance pricing\u2019 is legal gouging. California legislators don\u2019t seem to care"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Say you want a new pair of running shoes, but you just can\u2019t make up your mind. So you spend a solid week checking them out online, coming back to one pair on a particular site again and again.<\/p>\n

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When you\u2019re finally ready to check out, you notice something upsetting \u2014 the price you saw on day one is now 20% higher. What the heck?<\/p>\n

Welcome to the brave new world of surveillance pricing, where some companies are not just tracking your every move online but also purchasing deep-dive data into your life for a single purpose \u2014 to figure out the maximum you will pay for an item and jack up the price accordingly to squeeze every possible dollar out of every unwitting consumer.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s legal, and whether it\u2019s good or bad \u201cdepends on which side of the transaction you\u2019re on,\u201d said Roger White, an economics professor at Whittier College.<\/p>\n

For those of you who are really terrible at economics, we, the little people, are on the bad end of that deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is using your own personal data and your characteristics, your demographics, information about you, to set a different price based on the perceived willingness to pay, and that is causing Californians a potential chance of being gouged,\u201d said state Assemblymember Christopher M. Ward (D-San Diego).<\/p>\n

Ward is trying to outlaw surveillance pricing in California with his AB 2564, which seems like a no-brainer if you actually care about affordability and your constituents. But he\u2019s having a hard time getting his bill through the Legislature. In fact, he tried last year and failed.<\/p>\n

This year, the bill still has a chance, but the clock is ticking, the lobbyists representing big retailers and data brokers are spending, and our state elected officials seem lukewarm on the issue.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

AI factor<\/strong><\/h4>\n

But if surveillance pricing seems corrupt or unethical, get ready. Because retailers are getting ready \u2014 for artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

Right now, most surveillance pricing is relying on established data collection. That is about to get super-charged as AI goes further and further into sweeping up bits of information on every aspect of our lives, on and offline.<\/p>\n

Did your car break down and you have to shop at home? Are you injured or have a medical condition that makes you desperate for comfy shoes? Did you just get a raise and maybe are in the mood to spend?<\/p>\n

The amount of data that can be definitively known about your life is huge. The amount that can be inferred is even bigger. Imagine if artificial intelligence in real time, using every bit of information it can find, is basically working to squeeze every dime out of you, every day on every purchase \u2014 groceries, clothes, plane tickets, maybe even medicines.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cAI gives them powerful tools to do that, and they can basically use information almost instantaneously to set prices,\u201d said Darrell M. West, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy think tank.<\/p>\n

Which makes regulating surveillance pricing now all the more important.<\/p>\n

Increased inequality<\/strong><\/h4>\n

White, the Whittier professor, sees an even bigger threat looming with surveillance pricing. He points out that income inequality in the United States has been increasing since the 1970s, and it is mostly rich people who control and own large retail endeavors.<\/p>\n

If surveillance pricing is allowed to blossom unfettered, he\u2019s concerned the rich will get richer by selling at higher prices, and everyone else will be paying so much to survive that the poor and middle class will suffer even further.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis could lead to an acceleration of income inequality,\u201d White said. \u201cThis could be a way for, sort of, the rich to benefit more,\u201d leaving \u201cthe middle class and the poor potentially being even worse off.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Immediate gouging, and long-term erosion of the already tenuous ability of the middle class and poorer people to survive. You\u2019d think our state Legislature would be all over fixing this.<\/p>\n

Other states have. In fact, about 20 states have some sort of law about \u201cdynamic pricing,\u201d a broader term for how retailers use data to set prices.<\/p>\n

Just a few days ago, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed A4085 (the Fair Price Protection Act), which prohibits surveillance pricing for groceries.<\/p>\n

New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Maryland also have laws on the issue, though some won\u2019t take effect until next year.<\/p>\n

And this isn\u2019t some sort of blue-state push. MAGA Republican Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) suggested last week that he might be considering federal legislation on the issue, the same week the democratic socialist mayor of Seattle proposed curbs on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are both Republicans and Democrats who are worried about these issues because they\u2019re getting complaints from their own constituents,\u201d West said.<\/p>\n

But in California, the winds are blowing in favor of the big guys. While Ward is working through one colleague at a time trying to pass the measure, the lobbying pressure against it has been significant.<\/p>\n

Retailers and others argue it could have unintended consequences, like preventing them from offering discounts to certain customers, or having loyalty programs.<\/p>\n

C\u2019mon. No one is coming for your coupons.<\/p>\n

White, the economist, points out that companies are spending millions to implement surveillance pricing, and they aren\u2019t doing it so they can slash prices and lose money.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey won\u2019t say this, but you know, the reality is that millions, if not billions, of dollars in inflated profit is on the line,\u201d said Ward. \u201cUnfortunately, that is coming at the expense of everyday Californians who are having that ripped out of their pocketbooks without them even knowing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

White put it even more bluntly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re opposed to the Assembly bill, it seems that you are siding with the businesses, and if you\u2019re in favor of it, then it seems that you\u2019re siding with consumer protections.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ward is fighting an uphill battle, but he isn\u2019t giving up. It\u2019s about trying to \u201cright the universe when it comes to fair pricing for consumers,\u201d he told me.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to go back to a place of a fair marketplace where you have an honest relationship between the consumer and the business and everybody is being treated the same,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Anita Chabria is a Los Angeles Times columnist. \u00a92026 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Harriette Cole: I found out the real reason she skipped my daughter\u2019s party<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unchecked dynamic algorithms exploit personal data to inflate everyday costs, yet Sacramento remains passive<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nChabria: \u2018Surveillance pricing\u2019 is legal gouging. California legislators don\u2019t seem to care - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7117\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chabria: \u2018Surveillance pricing\u2019 is legal gouging. 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