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3/24/2026
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Sen. Euer bill to ban data-driven pricing to be heard in committee
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STATE HOUSE — Legislation from Sen. Dawn Euer to protect consumers from unexpected price increases by banning data-driven pricing practices will be heard in committee today.
“When Rhode Islanders walk into a store or shop online, they should know that they are seeing the same prices as everyone else and that those prices didn’t just increase as they were parking because snow’s now in the forecast. But with algorithmically controlled pricing, that’s no longer always the case,” said Senator Euer (D-Dist. 13, Newport, Jamestown). “These new technologies, which are used to maximize the price each customer pays, hurt Rhode Islanders whose budgets are already stretched thin by the rising cost of housing, gas prices and the impact of tariffs. I’ve introduced this bill to end these high-tech price gouging techniques that customers cannot afford.”
Data-driven pricing describes a range of practices where businesses use large amounts of data and algorithms to quickly update prices based on factors beyond the business’ costs, operating expenses or level of service provided.
These practices include “surveillance pricing,” where different customers are charged different prices for the same goods or services based on personal and household data collected about them; “dynamic pricing,” sometimes called “surge pricing,” where prices change in real time based on factors such as consumer demand, weather conditions, time of purchase, traffic or local events; and “algorithmic pricing,” a general term for when an algorithm sets prices based on a data training set.
This legislation (2026-S 2428) would make it a deceptive trade practice for companies in Rhode Island to use either surveillance pricing or dynamic pricing. The bill also would outlaw the use of automatic algorithmic analysis that results in customers seeing different prices for the same product or service.
The bill would still allow for discounts, rebates and loyalty programs that do not rely on surveillance pricing.
Senator Euer’s bill will be heard by the Senate Commerce Committee today, Tuesday, March 24, at the rise of the Senate, sometime after 4:30 p.m. in Room 212 on the second floor of the State House.
For more information, contact:
Tristan Grau, Publicist
State House Room B20
Providence, RI 02903
401.222.4935
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