(Credit: Grace Cary/Getty Images)
Algorithms are hard to escape, even in the grocery store aisle. However, Maryland will soon ban grocers and delivery services from using your data to serve up higher prices, and more than a dozen other states are looking to do the same.
The Protection From Predatory Pricing Act (HB 895), signed by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore last week, bans price manipulation, effective Oct. 1, 2026, meaning retailers can’t set a “personalized price for a good or service that is specific to a consumer based on [their] personal data.”
It doesn’t apply to discounts from loyalty or subscription programs, or prices that are adjusted based on taxes or shipping costs to a specific location. If a store is found to be engaging in price manipulation, it’ll have 45 days to fix the problem and avoid an enforcement action, though consumers can still sue.
This type of activity made headlines last year after Instacart's AI tool, Eversight, was found to be showing people different prices for the same items on the app. In live tests across four cities, for example, the price of a dozen Lucerne eggs at a Safeway in Washington ranged from $3.99 to $4.79. Researchers claimed it could cost people an extra $1,200 a year, though Instacart disputed that figure. Nonetheless, it prompted an FTC investigation, and Instacart eventually pulled retailers’ access to Eversight.
The Maryland bill also mentions dynamic pricing, in which stores adjust prices based on market conditions or other factors. Perhaps you remember when Wendy’s faced blowback amid reports that it would charge more during peak times, similar to Uber’s surge pricing. The company later clarified that the pricing changes would be for discounts, not price hikes. However, the practice does little to inspire confidence in consumers already struggling with ever-increasing prices.
(Credit: MultiState)As MultiState reports, Maryland, California, Hawaii, and New York are also pursuing dynamic pricing legislation, though they focus on “broader algorithmic pricing methods,” whereas Maryland’s law goes after discriminatory price increases.
“State algorithmic pricing laws are emerging nationwide, but inconsistent terminology across jurisdictions—conflating dynamic pricing, surveillance pricing, and algorithmic pricing—may complicate compliance for retailers operating in multiple states,” MultiState notes.
One way to avoid that is to enact federal legislation. On Friday, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) introduced the Promoting Real-time Information on Cost Expenditure (PRICE) Act, which would require food delivery apps to disclose all fees and service charges prior to checkout and to ban “exploitative surveillance pricing…where companies use personal data, including location, browsing history, device type, and shopping habits, to set individualized prices.”
Rep. Goldman argues that “this unfair practice can lead to higher prices for older adults, individuals with disabilities, and other people who are unable to pick up their orders themselves.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) introduced similar legislation last summer, while Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) is tackling the topic in the Senate. So far, neither bill has seen much activity, however.