Torres Slams House GOP for Protecting Predatory Surveillance Pricing and Price-Gouging Over Working Families

Torres Slams House GOP for Protecting Predatory Surveillance Pricing and Price-Gouging Over Working Families

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congresswoman Norma Torres (CA-35), a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, introduced an amendment in the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bill aimed at protecting American families from predatory surveillance pricing and price gouging algorithms.

The amendment would have directed the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate how retailers use digital price tags (also known as electronic shelf labels), digital tools, and personal data to change prices in real-time. By blocking the measure, House Republicans have effectively cleared the way for stores to continue using "individualized pricing" to charge different customers different prices for the same basic goods.

"Today, House Republicans sold out hardworking families to protect the profits of corporate giants. My amendment was a common-sense demand for transparency: why should neighbors pay different prices for the same loaf of bread at the same store based on data from their phones?" said Congresswoman Torres. "By killing this investigation, the GOP has effectively green-lit corporations using digital tools to shake you down at the checkout line. They can't pretend to care about inflation while actively voting to keep grocery prices high and corporate greed hidden from the public."

The rise of electronic shelf labels (ESLs) risks allowing grocery stores and other retailers to change prices thousands of times a day. When paired with the amount of surveillance data retailers have access to and increasingly sophisticated technologies, including artificial intelligence, these tools allow for "predatory" models that target a consumer's perceived "willingness to pay," often resulting in higher costs for those who can least afford it.

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