New York City Council votes to ban surveillance pricing

The New York City Council has passed Introduction 891-A, a bill aimed at banning surveillance pricing in transactions with consumers in New York City. The measure, voted through on 12 November 2026, would prohibit using personal data and algorithms to set different prices for the same goods or services, and would curb collecting, selling, or sharing data to enable such pricing. If signed into law by the mayor, the provisions would take effect one year after enactment.

Surveillance pricing, as defined by the bill, uses information about a customer—ranging from location and browsing history to demographics and behavioural data—to determine the price shown for a product or service. The article cites evidence presented by the Federal Trade Commission in January 2025, which indicated detailed data pipelines and pricing tools that could draw on mouse movements and unpurchased items, involving intermediaries serving at least 250 clients across sectors such as groceries and apparel.

The FTC findings emphasised that surveillance pricing is distinct from dynamic pricing, though the two can overlap, and that personalised prices aren’t necessarily higher for all shoppers; rather, the pricing may reflect what sellers think they can extract from an individual.

The bill also clarifies that genuine discounts, including loyalty programmes and clearly defined group discounts, would be preserved, subject to conditions. The legislative move reflects concerns about opaque pricing systems and the broader risks of data collection and profiling. The article attributes the measure and its details to the New York City Council and related reporting.