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New York AG proposes bills to ban surveillance pricing and ESLs
New York Attorney General's Office promoted the ‘One Fair Price’ package and the ‘Protecting Consumers and Jobs from Discriminatory Pricing Act’ 8616/A.9396 on 19 October 2023. The proposals target surveillance pricing practices and electro
2026-05-09 · 2 min
New York AG proposes bills to ban surveillance pricing and ESLs
New York Attorney General's Office promoted the ‘One Fair Price’ package and the ‘Protecting Consumers and Jobs from Discriminatory Pricing Act’ 8616/A.9396 on 19 October 2023. The proposals target surveillance pricing practices and electronic shelf labels in grocery stores and pharmacies.
One Fair Price
One Fair Price would prohibit surveillance-based pricing and authorize the Office of the Attorney General OAG and affected New Yorkers to bring civil cases seeking penalties and restitution against businesses that use surveillance pricing. The companion Discriminatory Pricing Act would prohibit the use of electronic shelf labels in covered settings and restrict surveillance pricing in grocery and pharmacy channels. This is proposed legislation, not an enacted rule.
Discounting is preserved. One Fair Price explicitly permits discounts, including loyalty programs, coupons, subscription pricing, and standard promotions for veterans and seniors, while barring surveillance pricing practices. The measures aim to ensure the displayed price is the same for all consumers and protect consumers from differential pricing based on personal data and opaque algorithms.
Scope and Impact
The scope covers businesses using surveillance pricing in New York, and grocery stores and pharmacies that use electronic shelf labels. The document is a press communication about proposed legislation; it does not contain enacted statutory text.
If enacted, the operational impact is direct. Retailers and platforms that individualize prices for New York consumers would need to suspend or reconfigure surveillance pricing features to display and charge the same price to all consumers. They would also need to document eligibility for permitted discounts, including loyalty programs, coupons, subscription pricing, and standard promotions for veterans and seniors. Grocery and pharmacy operators using electronic shelf labels would need to assess removal or restriction of ESL systems within New York locations consistent with the act’s prohibitions. Legal teams should prepare for exposure to civil actions by the OAG and affected New Yorkers, aligning records to evidence uniform pricing and discount eligibility, and updating consumer-facing disclosures to reflect non-personalized pricing.
No formal industry reaction had surfaced at publication.
The One Fair Price package and the Discriminatory Pricing Act would, if passed, narrow the use of surveillance pricing, restrict electronic shelf labels in grocery and pharmacy settings, and expand enforcement levers through authorized civil actions. The press release does not set a legislative timeline; the measures remain proposals that require legislative passage before any business obligations change.
For more information, see the New York Attorney General's Office press release on the proposed legislation.