Groundwork Celebrates Passage of New York’s One Fair Price Act

Groundwork Celebrates Passage of New York’s One Fair Price Act

The One Fair Price Act, which protects against corporate price gouging powered by consumers’ personal data, now heads to Governor Hochul’s desk for signature.

In a watershed victory for New Yorkers, the New York State Legislature passed the One Fair Price Act, a piece of legislation that would protect consumers from deceptive corporate pricing tactics. The bill will ban surveillance pricing – the use of consumers’ personal data to set the price of goods – in New York State. The passage of the One Fair Price Act comes on the heels of Groundwork’s blockbuster investigation into Instacart, which revealed the grocery delivery giant’s use of pricing experiments on unsuspecting consumers.

The bill is one of two in the One Fair Price Package, a dual effort by the New York State Legislature to tackle predatory pricing schemes. The other bill in the legislative package – the Protecting Consumers and Jobs from Discriminatory Pricing Act – would ban the use of electronic shelf labels and prohibit surveillance pricing in grocery stores and pharmacies.

A recent survey of New York likely voters from Groundwork Action and Data for Progress found nearly 80% of New Yorkers say companies shouldn’t be allowed to use personal data in pricing, with 77% saying state lawmakers should go beyond the recent disclosure law and ban surveillance pricing altogether. Recent polling from Groundwork Collaborative and Data for Progress similarly found that over three-quarters (76%) of Americans said they support a ban on the practice. Since the start of 2026, at least 40 bills targeting personalized algorithmic pricing have been introduced in at least 24 states.

Groundwork’s Executive Director, Lindsay Owens, shared her reaction:

“Working families in New York and across the country struggle with the cost of living and they deserve protections against corporations using their data against them to jack up prices. New Yorkers aren’t corporate guinea pigs, and Groundwork applauds New York lawmakers for fighting to ensure New Yorkers aren’t shaken down by secret pricing schemes designed to squeeze every last dollar out of them. The One Fair Price Act can’t come soon enough.”

Lindsay is the author of the forthcoming book Gouged: The End of a Fair Price–and What That Means for Your Wallet.

Background

The One Fair Price Package would ban surveillance pricing across the state and protect New Yorkers from deceptive pricing tactics.

• The One Fair Price Act, sponsored by Assemblymember Emérita Torres and Senator Rachel May, will prohibit the use of surveillance pricing – the use of personal data to set the price of goods – as well as the collection, use, retention, or sharing of data to facilitate the practice.
  • The bill will protect loyalty programs and legitimate discounts, genuine reductions in price that are generally available to consumers.
• The Protecting Consumer and Jobs from Discriminatory Pricing Act, carried by Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris and Assemblymember Michaelle Solages, would prohibit the use of electronic shelf labels (ESLs), digital shelf display technology, and surveillance pricing in food and drug retail establishments.
• Recent polling from Groundwork Action and Data for Progress found that 80% of New Yorkers say companies should not be allowed to use personal data in pricing because “every customer should be charged the same price.”
  • An overwhelming majority of New York voters say it is unfair for companies to use customers’ personal information to either charge different prices for the same products (75%) or determine the discounts customers receive (77%).

This passage builds on legislative momentum nationwide, as majorities of Americans say they support efforts to end these deceptive pricing practices.

• Recent polling from Groundwork Collaborative and Data for Progress found that over three-quarters (76%) of Americans said they support efforts that bring an end to the algorithmic pricing scheme.
• An overwhelming majority of voters (76%) say it is unfair for companies to use customers’ personal information to charge different prices for the same products.
  • 8 in 10 voters say companies should not be allowed to use a customer’s personal information to charge different prices for the same item because “every customer should be charged the same price.”
• Since the start of 2026, at least 40 bills targeting personalized algorithmic pricing have been introduced in at least 24 states nationwide.
  • This year, state lawmakers have introduced legislation to shut down pricing schemes in Colorado, Connecticut, and California, among others.

Following passage through the New York State Assembly and Senate, the One Fair Price Act is headed to Governor Kathy Hochul’s desk for signature. Meanwhile, the Protecting Consumers and Jobs from Discriminatory Pricing Act has cleared the State Senate and remains pending in the Assembly.