Economy

Democrats target groceries in push to ban dynamic pricing

More than 90 bills on the issue have been introduced this year.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaks during a press conference announcing the Protection from Predatory Pricing Act, in Severna Park, Md., Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Lawmakers in at least a dozen states are advancing legislation this year to ban commercial sellers from using consumer data to set prices in grocery stores, a broad push that is worrying industry groups who say the practice is as old as retail itself.

Legislators have introduced more than 90 bills this year related to surveillance pricing — in which companies use artificial intelligence to sift through the reams of data they collect about individual consumers to adjust prices — according to a tally by the law firm Troutman Pepper Locke.

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