State lawmakers are considering a proposal that would limit how businesses use consumers’ personal data to set prices — a practice typically referred to as “surveillance pricing.”
Retail and grocery groups say the bill’s discount disclosure requirements could make it harder to manage promotions.
But Stanford data privacy expert Jen King says that’s not what the bill’s about.
“Companies have always been able to offer discounts. I don’t think policymakers are trying to create law that prevents that from happening. They’re trying to create law that allows somebody to kind of maximize the amount of money that anybody can pay.”
The bill recently cleared the Senate Consumer Protection Committee after passing the Assembly. It now heads to the Senate Judiciary Committee.