{"id":272,"date":"2026-06-23T09:07:52","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T09:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=272"},"modified":"2026-06-23T09:07:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T09:07:52","slug":"new-york-city-wants-to-end-surveillance-pricing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=272","title":{"rendered":"New York City Wants to End Surveillance Pricing"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

A couple of years ago, when he was in charge of the FTC\u2019s Bureau of Consumer Protection, Sam Levine began investigating a marketplace that until then had escaped the notice of regulators. A cadre of software companies, consultancies, and financial institutions had taken troves of data sloshing around on the internet and used them to design algorithms allowing retailers to set personalized prices for each of their customers, up to the edge of what they\u2019d be willing to pay. An article right here in the Prospect<\/em> coined the phrase for this activity: surveillance pricing.<\/p>\n

Read more The Most Important Labour Leader in a Generation<\/a><\/p>\n

Before leaving office, Levine\u2019s FTC issued its of the topic, finding that just eight surveillance pricing companies were working with over 250 clients. Levine later about how much of the data extracted for personalization comes from retail loyalty programs. And outrage from consumers has led to both political action and corporate pushback.<\/p>\n

Since an early reform went into effect last November, New York state retailers have been compelled by law to publish boilerplate disclosures for goods they\u2019re hawking at prices algorithmically determined using a customer\u2019s personal data, like location, shopping, or browser history. Those disclosures have shown that surveillance pricing is everywhere, but they haven\u2019t done anything to curtail the thing itself. Other laws purporting to crack down on surveillance pricing have passed in Maryland, Connecticut, and most recently New York\u2014another in Colorado was vetoed by Gov. Jared Polis (D). But none of them have quite gotten the job done either, watered down by fierce lobbying.<\/p>\n

Now, in his new job as commissioner of New York City\u2019s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), Levine wants the city to ban surveillance pricing outright. A new bill at the city council, introduced by council Speaker Julie Menin, who was in charge of consumer affairs for the city a decade ago, would empower DCWP to do that, though it\u2019s unclear how much of a deterrent it would pose to businesses as drafted.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgencies are small, resources are limited, courts can sometimes move slowly, and that is why our agency and the administration strongly believes a private right of action should be added to the bill,\u201d Levine told the Prospect<\/em>. That would make it possible for consumers to sue corporations individually or as a class over infractions of the law, with each carrying up to a $1,000 penalty. \u201cIt makes it a lot less likely that companies violate the law, because they know they could face significant liability if they\u2019re fast and loose,\u201d Levine said.<\/p>\n

Industry lobbyists are basically on the same page about the downstream effects of a private right of action, which they oppose. \u201cOur companies, especially if they\u2019re exposed to lawsuits from individuals on these unclear statutes, are going to err on the side of caution and just not provide or engage in the discount loyalty program practices,\u201d where much of the data for surveillance pricing comes from, says Matt Henning, the government affairs director of Tech:NYC, a trade group whose members include e-commerce giants Amazon, Instacart, and Booking.com.<\/p>\n

A city council spokesperson confirmed to the Prospect<\/em> after a recent hearing on the bill, which is still early in the legislative process, that lawmakers are considering adding a private right of action to it.<\/p>\n

Previous efforts to do so have fallen short. The New York state legislature axed a private right of action from its own surveillance pricing ban, which it passed earlier this month and sent to Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s desk. A spokesperson for the governor said she \u201cwill review the bill\u201d but would not go into further detail about her thinking on it.<\/p>\n

Read more The Pro-Israel Super PAC Cinematic Universe<\/a><\/p>\n

E-commerce platforms and retail giants have fought the bill relentlessly in behind-the-scenes lobbying, according to a source familiar with the legislative discussions. In public, they\u2019ve been backstopped by trade associations and industry coalitions including the high-tech advocacy group Chamber of Progress, run by a former Google lobbyist, which has been barnstorming states where bans are now on the table, like New Jersey and California.<\/p>\n

The group\u2019s messaging has focused on how businesses use personal data to dole out discounts, coupons, and targeted promotions, which make their products more affordable. Without them, they say, businesses would be forced to raise prices for everyone. But the current version of the New York City bill, which Chamber of Progress opposes, addresses that concern by exempting old-fashioned discounts and coupons available to members of rewards programs, low-income people, teachers, veterans, seniors, students, or other \u201cmembers of a broadly defined group.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chamber of Progress wants the city to add algorithmically determined personalized discounts to that list, like Maryland did in its recent surveillance pricing law. That law wound up packed full of other carve-outs and caveats, including an exemption for subscription pricing. It also jettisoned a private right of action and consumers from suing companies for algorithmic price discrimination under \u201cany other law\u201d on the state\u2019s books.<\/p>\n

Exempting algorithmically determined discounts, according to Mayu Tobin-Miyaji, a law fellow at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, could act as a kind of Trojan horse for overall price hikes down the line. It also provides \u201can incentive for every consumer to opt into the loyalty program, giving up a lot of their personal data, which can then be sold,\u201d she told the Prospect<\/em>. Last year, Starbucks reported that 60 percent of the company\u2019s revenue came from its loyalty program spenders, who, for the most part, accrue points in a mobile app.<\/p>\n

The power of a private right of action came across in a filed this month in Washington, D.C., against The Washington Post<\/em>, which, according to the complaint, has been luring customers in through a discount deal on Amazon, which gave the company access to comprehensive data profiles. The Post<\/em> then monitored accounts and pushed subscriptions on readers with different prices depending on customer usage.<\/p>\n

The case argues that this kind of surveillance pricing is already illegal under the District of Columbia\u2019s consumer protection law, which prohibits unfair acts. But a bright-line ban, as is being planned in New York City, could prove more effective.<\/p>\n

Read more Better Affordability Through Climate Policy<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
\n
\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Newly required disclosures have shown that surveillance pricing is everywhere, but they haven\u2019t done anything to curtail the thing itself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":271,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[134],"class_list":["post-272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economic-policy","tag-tagged-big-tech-consumer-protection-corporate-power-economic-policy-federal-trade-commission-law-justice-new-york-new-york-city-pricing-ret"],"yoast_head":"\nNew York City Wants to End Surveillance Pricing - Frontier Housing Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=272\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New York City Wants to End Surveillance Pricing - Frontier Housing Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Newly required disclosures have shown that surveillance pricing is everywhere, but they haven\u2019t done anything to curtail the thing itself.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=272\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Frontier Housing Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-23T09:07:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/?p=272#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/?p=272\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13a8c63a4bd3b73600b541c1532fc247\"},\"headline\":\"New York City Wants to End Surveillance Pricing\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-23T09:07:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/?p=272\"},\"wordCount\":1056,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/?p=272#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/01604c011d39dac6b3b05045ef7aa22c.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Tagged: Big Tech,\u00a0consumer protection,\u00a0corporate power,\u00a0Economic Policy,\u00a0Federal Trade Commission,\u00a0Law & Justice,\u00a0New York,\u00a0New York City,\u00a0pricing,\u00a0retail,\u00a0surveillance\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Economic Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/?p=272#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/?p=272\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/?p=272\",\"name\":\"New York City Wants to End Surveillance Pricing - Frontier Housing Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/?p=272#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/?p=272#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/01604c011d39dac6b3b05045ef7aa22c.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-23T09:07:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13a8c63a4bd3b73600b541c1532fc247\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/?p=272#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/?p=272\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/?p=272#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/01604c011d39dac6b3b05045ef7aa22c.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/01604c011d39dac6b3b05045ef7aa22c.webp\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1331},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/?p=272#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"New York City Wants to End Surveillance Pricing\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Frontier Housing Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13a8c63a4bd3b73600b541c1532fc247\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/frontierhousingreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New York City Wants to End Surveillance Pricing - Frontier Housing Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=272","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New York City Wants to End Surveillance Pricing - Frontier Housing Report","og_description":"Newly required disclosures have shown that surveillance pricing is everywhere, but they haven\u2019t done anything to curtail the thing itself.","og_url":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=272","og_site_name":"Frontier Housing Report","article_published_time":"2026-06-23T09:07:52+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=272#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=272"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13a8c63a4bd3b73600b541c1532fc247"},"headline":"New York City Wants to End Surveillance Pricing","datePublished":"2026-06-23T09:07:52+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=272"},"wordCount":1056,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=272#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/01604c011d39dac6b3b05045ef7aa22c.webp","keywords":["Tagged: Big Tech,\u00a0consumer protection,\u00a0corporate power,\u00a0Economic Policy,\u00a0Federal Trade Commission,\u00a0Law & Justice,\u00a0New York,\u00a0New York City,\u00a0pricing,\u00a0retail,\u00a0surveillance"],"articleSection":["Economic Policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=272#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=272","url":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=272","name":"New York City Wants to End Surveillance Pricing - Frontier Housing Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=272#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=272#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/01604c011d39dac6b3b05045ef7aa22c.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-23T09:07:52+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13a8c63a4bd3b73600b541c1532fc247"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=272#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=272"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=272#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/01604c011d39dac6b3b05045ef7aa22c.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/01604c011d39dac6b3b05045ef7aa22c.webp","width":2000,"height":1331},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=272#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"New York City Wants to End Surveillance Pricing"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/","name":"Frontier Housing Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13a8c63a4bd3b73600b541c1532fc247","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}