When you shop online or walk into a store, you might assume everyone pays the same price for the same item. That's no longer true. Retailers are using your personal data, including your location, your browsing history, and your demographics, to figure out the most you're willing to pay, and then charging you exactly that. It's called surveillance pricing, and it's happening right now at grocery stores, clothing retailers, hardware chains, and beauty stores across the country.

Maryland just became the first state to take action, banning surveillance pricing at grocery stores. Governor Wes Moore put it plainly at the bill signing: "At a time when technology can predict what we need, when we need it, when we'll pay for it and also when we'll pay more for it, and at a time when we're watching how big companies are using these analytics against us to make record profits, Maryland is not just pushing back. Maryland is pushing forward because we are going to protect our people."

But Maryland's law only covers groceries. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has documented surveillance pricing at stores selling clothing, beauty products, home goods, and hardware. Any retailer with access to your data can quietly charge you more than the person standing next to you, and you'd never know.

We're calling on Congress to pass a national ban on surveillance pricing across all retail sectors, not just food, with real enforcement that gives every American the right to take action when they've been targeted. Without that, corporations face no meaningful deterrent. A law without teeth isn't protection. It's permission.

Americans are already stretched thin by the rising cost of everyday goods. No one should have to worry that their zip code, their search history, or their age is being used against them at the checkout line. Congress needs to act before this practice becomes the norm in every store in America.