Personalized Pricing Scrutiny Expands as FTC Previews Activity and Cities Join States in Weighing New Restrictions
Regulators and legislators have been keenly focused on personalized pricing for several years, and the degree of interest has increased significantly in recent weeks. For example, Seattle passed a law banning the use of personalized pricing in certain grocery sales, a key New York City official publicly advocated for adoption of a multi-industry proposal, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman previewed that more agency action is on the way. We previously covered state, FTC, and congressional activity on personalized pricing—which generally refers to the use of consumer-specific data to set or tailor prices for an individual consumer, rather than adjusting prices based solely on broader factors such as demand, inventory, or market conditions—but the addition of cities as potential regulators and more activity from the FTC further complicates compliance.
What’s in the FTC Pipeline?
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson indicated in a recent interview that the FTC has active enforcement investigations in this area. During the same public interview, Chairman Ferguson also stated that the FTC is preparing orders under Section 6(b) of the FTC Act to compel information for the purpose of studying the use of personalized pricing and implied it would cover the delivery, rideshare, and air travel industries, which he described as the industries of greatest concern to him personally. He even noted that although the FTC lacks enforcement authority over airlines, it does have authority to compel information for industry studies. This preview follows the FTC’s August release of a proposed Enforcement Policy Statement regarding personalized pricing, warning that companies may violate the FTC Act when they use consumer data to determine prices without adequately informing consumers about those practices.
How Are Seattle and New York City Approaching Personalized Pricing?
In contrast to the FTC’s stated focus on transparency and disclosure, some local governments are beginning to pursue regulatory approaches that take a more prescriptive approach.
In Seattle, the City Council recently approved legislation that would prohibit grocery stores with at least 20 locations globally from offering different prices based on consumer-specific characteristics or data. Like some state laws, the ordinance would permit certain practices that use personal data to provide discounts, such as conventional loyalty programs and broadly available group discounts. The measure is awaiting the mayor’s signature with a slated effective date of September 1, 2027.
New York City policymakers are considering broader pending legislation that would prohibit businesses from using consumers’ personal data to set individualized prices for goods or services – a practice the City Council has called “surveillance pricing.” The proposal would apply to most industries with limited exceptions for certain credit and insurance products. The New York City Council is also considering a separate initiative with guardrails for dynamic pricing, which typically includes price changes driven by broader market factors such as demand, supply, or inventory.
Momentum behind the NYC proposal may be growing. At multiple public events in recent weeks, the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Sam Levine, argued for adoption of the pending law. He contended that existing federal enforcement efforts and New York state’s current disclosure requirements do not adequately address the perceived harms associated with personalized pricing. If enacted, the city’s measure would prohibit covered uses of personal data to set individualized prices, rather than merely requiring disclosure.
What Is the Focus of State Personalized Pricing Laws?
Several states have recently adopted different approaches to regulating personalized pricing. New Jersey’s Fair Price Protection Act (effective August 1, 2027) prohibits the use of personal data to set individualized prices for groceries and other foodstuffs, subject to exceptions for loyalty and rewards programs. Connecticut’s law (effective October 1, 2026) applies broadly to covered retailers and requires businesses to provide a prescribed disclosure when a price-setting device uses a consumer’s personal data to increase a price, while exempting certain loyalty and rewards-based pricing practices. Maryland’s Protection from Predatory Pricing Act (effective October 1, 2026) prohibits large food retailers and grocery delivery applications from using personal data to increase food prices through individualized pricing practices. New York’s Algorithmic Pricing Disclosure Act (effective November 10, 2025) takes an economy-wide transparency approach by requiring businesses to clearly disclose when personal data is used to generate individualized prices.
The New York State Legislature has also passed legislation to expand upon and revise the state’s existing disclosure regime with a prohibition on using personal data to generate individualized prices, although that measure has not yet been signed by the Governor.
What Should Companies Do as the Personalized Pricing Regulatory Landscape Shifts?
In many instances, the steps businesses should take will vary by industry and state. But most companies using consumer data to set prices could benefit from several key practices:
- Assess whether their practices qualify as personalized pricing under state and local laws.
- Determine whether individualized pricing should be disclosed to customers, and if so, ensure disclosures are clear and conspicuous.
- Inventory the consumer data and third-party inputs used to generate prices or offers.
- Assess the accuracy of disclosures and clarity of consent for collecting and using any personal data to set prices.
- Evaluate how data providers and vendors collect data used to set prices and whether they obtain consent to do so.
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Wiley’s FTC and Consumer Protection and Privacy, Cyber & Data Governance teams have extensive experience advising clients on algorithmic pricing, automated decision-making technologies, and the evolving legal and regulatory landscape governing data-driven business practices. Our team also regularly helps companies respond to government investigations involving FTC scrutiny, state regulatory initiatives, and emerging consumer protection risks. For questions about this alert or how these developments may affect your business, please contact the authors.
