New York’s latest state budget includes new disclosure requirements for companies that use personal data to set different prices for shoppers. For example, if you have a history of splurging, you might be charged an extra fee.
According to the New York Times, companies using personalized pricing will now be required to tell customers that “this price was set by an algorithm using your personal data.”
It’s unclear how widespread this practice actually is among online retailers. An Uber spokesperson told the New York Times that the company is now showing New Yorkers this disclosure, but they called the law “poorly drafted and vague” and argued that Uber uses only geography and customer demand in its dynamic pricing calculations.
The National Retail Federation sued to block the law, but a federal judge allowed it to move forward.
Lina Khan, a former Federal Trade Commission chair and current co-chair of Mayor Zoran Mamdani’s transition team, told the New York Times that the law would be an “absolutely essential” tool for the government, but also suggested that “there is a lot of work to be done” to regulate the practice.
