Seattle City Council approved the Fair Pricing and Transparency Act (CB 121267), a measure that, pending Mayor Wilson’s signature, will make Seattle the first city to ban personalized pricing for groceries and other essential items. The law prohibits using consumers’ personal data - including web-browsing history, real-time location, and inferences about income, family size, or health - to change the price a shopper sees. It preserves a wide range of legitimate discounts while imposing transparency requirements and limits on profiling. Consumer Reports helped craft the policy, testified in support, and provided technical assistance during development.
The vote responds to investigations showing extensive data-driven pricing and profiling by retailers and delivery platforms. Consumer Reports found that some grocery chains compile detailed shopper profiles (one consumer received a 62-page Kroger file) and that Instacart’s algorithmic pricing tests produced different quoted prices for the same basket and time, with disparities up to 23% and potential annual costs to families exceeding $1,200. Instacart has stopped the program that displayed different prices to shoppers but still allows partner promotions. Separate research documented AI-driven fare differences and misleading discounting by ride apps. Several states, including Maryland, Connecticut, and New Jersey, have already enacted bans on surveillance pricing.
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