Sen. Josh Hawley leads Senate hearing on AI-driven surveillance pricing

Senator Josh Hawley convened a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing to examine the growing use of artificial intelligence in “surveillance pricing,” a practice where retailers use personal data to set individualized prices for consumers. Experts warned that AI could accelerate price discrimination, citing examples such as Lyft charging 55 riders 29 different prices for the same route and a JetBlue customer seeing a $230 price jump in a single day.

Industry leaders, including former Visa chief data officer Robert Hedges, noted that companies collect location data, browsing history, purchase habits and other signals to gauge a shopper’s willingness to pay. While some argue personalized pricing can benefit competitive markets, union representative Hillary Karen urged Congress to regulate the practice before it becomes widespread. Retailers such as Walmart Inc. and Kroger are testing digital shelf‑tag technology but deny using customer data for pricing. The hearing also highlighted recent state action, with New Jersey passing a law banning retailers from tracking income or browsing history to determine prices.