By BigNY.com
June 7, 2026
NEW YORK — New York is moving to become a national leader in consumer protection with the passage of the One Fair Price Act, legislation designed to stop companies from using personal data to charge different consumers different prices for the same product.
New York Attorney General Letitia James applauded the passage of the bill on June 5, calling it a major step against what her office describes as “surveillance pricing” — a practice in which companies use personal information such as browsing history, income, location, life circumstances, device information, and online behavior to determine how much a customer may be willing to pay.
What Is Surveillance Pricing?
Surveillance pricing occurs when companies use personal data and pricing algorithms to estimate the highest price an individual consumer might accept. That means two New Yorkers could visit the same website at the same time and see different prices for the exact same product.
According to the Attorney General’s office, online platforms can collect thousands of data points about consumers, including purchase habits, browsing behavior, timing of paychecks or benefits, and even how long a shopper hovers over a product online. Those details can then be used by automated pricing systems to adjust prices in real time.
The One Fair Price Act
The One Fair Price Act, listed as S.8623B/A.9349B, was championed by Attorney General James and sponsored by Assemblymember Emérita Torres and Senator Rachel May. The legislation prohibits the use of surveillance pricing, directly or indirectly, and bars the collection, use, retention, or sharing of consumer data for the purpose of enabling surveillance-based pricing.
The bill also gives the Office of the Attorney General authority to bring civil cases seeking penalties and restitution against companies or retailers that violate the law.
Discounts, Coupons, and Loyalty Programs Are Protected
Supporters of the bill emphasized that the legislation does not ban ordinary discounts, coupons, loyalty programs, or standard promotions. The Attorney General’s office said the bill explicitly protects bona fide discounts, including loyalty rewards, subscribe-and-save offers, coupons, and category-based discounts for groups such as seniors and veterans.
That distinction is important for consumers and small businesses. The bill targets hidden personalized price manipulation, not transparent promotions that are offered under clear eligibility rules.
Attorney General James: Price Should Not Depend on Who You Are
“New Yorkers know it is wrong for companies to use their personal information just to charge them more,” Attorney General James said in her announcement. She argued that shoppers should be able to trust that the price they see is based on the product being sold — not on a company’s judgment about their income, neighborhood, race, browsing history, or personal circumstances.
Assemblymember Torres said surveillance pricing is not about giving consumers better deals, but about using personal data to maximize corporate profits. Senator May warned that consumers should not have to wonder whether a price is based on “who they are instead of what they’re buying.”
Why It Matters for New Yorkers
For New York consumers, the bill addresses a growing concern in the digital marketplace: the lack of transparency around algorithmic pricing. As more shopping moves online and more businesses rely on automated pricing tools, consumers may not know whether they are seeing the same price as everyone else.
The One Fair Price Act seeks to draw a legal line between legitimate dynamic pricing and data-driven personalized pricing that uses private consumer information. The New York State Senate bill summary describes the legislation as a measure to protect consumers from “discriminatory, opaque, and exploitative pricing practices driven by algorithmic systems that rely on personal data.”
New York and the Future of Consumer Protection
If signed into law, the One Fair Price Act would place New York at the forefront of state-level regulation of algorithmic pricing. The legislation reflects a broader policy debate over how artificial intelligence, data collection, online marketplaces, and consumer privacy should be regulated in everyday commerce.
For shoppers, the central promise is simple: the price of a product should be based on the product — not on how much a company thinks an individual person can be pushed to pay.