Dems Want to Ban Surveillance Pricing at Big Grocery Stores

Sen. Ben Ray Luján, a Democrat from New Mexico, and Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, introduced legislation Thursday that would ban so-called surveillance and surge pricing in grocery stores. Officially known as the Stop Price Gouging in Grocery Stores Act of 2026, the Senate legislation is modeled on a 2025 bill in the House.

The new bill would require stores to disclose their use of facial recognition technology and would ban electronic shelf labels (ESL) in large grocery stores. ESLs are controversial because they allow retailers to change the price of a given item remotely, opening up the possibility that they could be tied to algorithms which raise and lower prices based on conditions in the store or who’s trying to buy something.

Hypothetically, stores can charge different prices at different times of day or rely on different inputs, right down to personalizing the price based on an individual who was looking at a given item, spotted with facial recognition tech. The concern is that factors like race, gender, and income level could be used to determine how much people are charged. A 2025 study found that Instacart was charging customers different prices for the same products, sometimes as much as 23% more. A few weeks after the study received negative press coverage, Instacart announced it was pulling the plug on its AI-powered pricing.

“In New Mexico and across the country, Americans are struggling to put food on the table,” Sen. Luján said in a statement posted online. “With rising costs driven by President Trump’s trade war and Republican cuts to SNAP, Congress must act to ensure that technologies are being used to improve the lives of Americans, not increase their grocery bills. Our friends, family, and neighbors should be able to shop at their local grocery store without worrying about predatory pricing.”

At least six states have seen legislation introduced to stop surge and surveillance pricing, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), which has also developed a 30-second ad to spread the word on the threat.

It’s not clear how many grocery outlets are actually utilizing in-store surveillance pricing, but part of the reason legislators feel like new laws are needed is that they want to get ahead of things before the practice becomes commonplace.

“This legislation is actually pretty simple: If two people are in the same store buying the same item, they should pay the same price,” Washington State Representative Mary Fosse said in an emailed statement.

“Large retailers are investing in AI, algorithms, and data systems that can change prices instantly, individually, and secretly,” Fosse continued. “We need to stop the rip-off at the register before these practices become the norm. Technology should serve workers and consumers, not exploit them.”

The Biden administration launched an investigation into surveillance pricing in 2024 with FTC chair Lina Khan initiating a study on the ways it may harm U.S. consumers. But after President Donald Trump took power in 2025, his administration killed the study.

Surge pricing for food is extremely unpopular, with one of the most famous cases happening in 2024 when Wendy’s merely discussed the possibility of introducing it in 2025. Within just a couple of days the backlash had gotten so bad the company denied even contemplating the idea, despite pretty clear evidence it was working on surge pricing. The restaurant chain’s CEO had even said it would “begin testing more enhanced features like dynamic pricing” in an earnings call.

Consumers are extremely price sensitive when it comes to food these days, and it’s no wonder, as people struggle to get by in an economy that prioritizes stock prices and Wall Street.

“Americans are hurting under the affordability crisis, and UFCW members see the pain in their faces every time they enter the grocery store,” UFCW International President Milton Jones said in a statement to Gizmodo. “Our members also feel it themselves when they shop for their families.”

“We are starting this national campaign to stop corporations from being able to change prices in front of their eyes just because they live in the wrong zipcode or are a new parent. We are proud to work with elected officials in every part of the country to lead the fight for affordable groceries and good jobs because that is what our members want.”