Seattle City Council votes to ban surveillance pricing in sale of groceries
Summary
Seattle City Council passed the Fair Pricing and Transparency Act to ban personalized surveillance pricing in grocery sales. The bill prohibits using a consumer’s personal data to adjust prices and requires greater transparency around discounts, with Consumer Reports providing technical assistance and advocating for the measure. The move is framed as a first-in-the-nation example of protecting shoppers from data-driven price discrimination, with context on prior investigations into data practices by major retailers.