Seattle City Council votes to ban surveillance pricing in sale of groceries

The Seattle City Council passed the Fair Pricing and Transparency Act, which would prohibit personalized pricing in grocery sales based on consumer data such as browsing history, location, income, and health conditions. If signed by Mayor Wilson, Seattle will become the first city in the nation to ban this surveillance pricing tactic, though Maryland, Connecticut, and New Jersey have already passed similar state-level legislation. Recent investigations by Consumer Reports found that retailers like Kroger and Instacart collect extensive personal data profiles and charge different prices to different consumers for identical products.