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A California bill that aimed to prevent retailers from charging customers different prices based on personal information that they collect died in the Legislature.
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Killing the measure was a main goal of the California Retailers Association, which launched a website and digital advertisements hoping to sink it. The measure is one of many across the country looking to limit the practice, where even a person’s movements with a computer mouse can be tracked and used by retailers to personalize prices.
The bill narrowly passed the Senate Monday, but needed approval in the Assembly one more time before the end of the day because it had been amended. Monday was the last day it was eligible to pass this legislative year, and it was not brought up in the Assembly for a vote.
“We appreciate the Assembly members and those members of the state Senate who took a hard look at the final language and understood that good intentions do not eliminate unintended consequences,” Rachel Michelin, the association’s CEO, said in a statement.
A spokesperson for the bill’s author, Assemblymember Chris Ward, D-San Diego, declined to comment about why it was not brought up in the Assembly. So did a spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister.
In a statement, Ward said he was “profoundly disappointed” the measure did not pass but added “the fight to stop surveillance pricing is far from over.”
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Coming up with prices that are determined, at least in part, by programs that use statistical modeling, data analytics or artificial intelligence would also have been prohibited under the measure. But the measure said offering a discount to a customer who enrolls in a loyalty, membership or rewards program would continue to be allowed.
The retailers association argued that the bill would put those discounts at risk, because it required businesses to disclose prices on their websites in certain circumstances.
Consumer Reports was one of the key supporters of the measure.
Justin Brookman, a director of technology policy for the company, said: “We knew there was a ton of opposition against it and there was definitely very concerted industry effort to sink it, which is always tough to overcome.”
Brookman said the work on the issue was still ongoing. So did Michelin, who said the association wanted to work with the Legislature on it next year.
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