Charging different prices for the same basic items based on consumers’ personal data won’t be possible anymore in New Jersey. Surveillance pricing has been banned in the Garden State.

Governor Mikie Sherrill signed the law, called the Fair Price Protection Act, last week, thus making New Jersey one of the first US states to ban the controversial practice.

The law prohibits grocery stores from using shoppers’ digital history, biometric information, or genetic data to tailor prices based on what algorithms predict each customer is willing or able to pay.

This is, of course, discriminatory. Prices can change on demand or during sales, and customers willingly use loyalty discounts – but surveillance pricing estimates the price you’ll pay using your personal data.

“New Jersey families are already feeling the pressure of higher costs. The last thing they need is companies secretly using their personal data to charge them more than someone else for the exact same product,” said Sherrill.

“If businesses want to compete, they should do so by offering better prices, not by finding new ways to squeeze shoppers.”

The law, which takes effect in August 2027, also imposes a one-year pause on electronic shelf labels, which enable such pricing strategies by changing prices instantly.

The state attorney general or consumers will be able to sue businesses that still use surveillance pricing. Grocery stores found liable could be required to issue refunds, lose permits, and face fines of up to $20,000.

In the end, this law will compromise the very cost-saving programs that consumers rely on, particularly during an affordability crisis,

Michele Siekerka

Unhappy opponents say the legislation presents a false choice between protecting consumers and improving operational efficiency for grocery stores.

The Fair Price Protection Act “could lead to unintended consequences, such as the end of some loyalty programs, coupons, and customer-specific discounts due to new limits on collecting consumer data,” warns the New Jersey Business & Industry Association.

“In the end, this law will compromise the very cost-saving programs that consumers rely on, particularly during an affordability crisis,” the organization’s President and CEO, Michele Siekerka, said.

“Rather than recognizing the strong consumer protections and unit pricing rules already in place in New Jersey, our policymakers once again sought to go one step further and to make New Jersey businesses the bad guy when most are simply trying to communicate prices in a timelier and more efficient manner.”

However, the law explicitly states that it does not apply to discounts, promotions, or customer loyalty programs. In other words, it only targets the use of AI-powered algorithms and the tracking of private data in our everyday shopping.