AP
Susan Walsh
ALBANY, N.Y. — A new law in New York State helps to protect consumers from secret online price hikes.
The surveillance pricing law is now in effect.
According to the Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office, this law requires businesses to disclose when prices are set by algorithms using personal data.
Hochul said, “As we enter the busy holiday shopping season, New Yorkers deserve to know they are getting a fair deal when shopping online.”
The governor’s office continued that with today’s technology “corporations are able to collect mountains of personal data, feed it into algorithms, and generate a price that’s individual to a consumer. This practice, which the FTC has dubbed surveillance pricing, means a company could be charging you and your neighbor different prices for the same product, based on your individual willingness to pay.”
This practice can hinder consumers’ ability to comparison shop.
“By requiring companies to be upfront when setting prices based on personal data, we are giving shoppers the transparency they need to make smart choices and keep more of their hard-earned money in their pockets,” Hochul said.