San Francisco: Don’t Fall for Industry Defense of Surveillance Pricing

Surveillance pricing—charging different prices for the same product based on personal data—is a widespread practice. The FTC has found that companies might intentionally charge higher prices to a parent searching for a baby thermometer in the middle of the night, based on their location and the hour of their search. The Electronic Frontier Foundation supports California's Assembly Bill twenty-sixty-four to ban the practice. But the San Francisco Board of Supervisors recently stalled a supportive resolution after receiving criticism from the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. The EFF has now urged the Board to reconsider, arguing that the Chamber's concerns about compliance and loyalty programs are already addressed in the bill. The organization maintains that privacy is a human right, not something consumers should trade for better prices.

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