Representative Rashida Tlaib, from Michigan’s 12th District, has introduced a new bill aimed at preventing what she calls “price gouging” in grocery stores, particularly practices that rely on consumer data and electronic pricing technology.
The bill, titled the “Stop Price Gouging at the Grocery Store Act” (H.R. 4966), has been co-sponsored by more than 20 members of Congress from various states, including Representative Shri Thanedar of Michigan.
At a press conference in Dearborn, Tlaib stated that “the overwhelming majority of Americans are feeling the pressure from rising food prices,” accusing some major grocery chains of using customer data and smart algorithms to set discriminatory prices.
She added: “Companies should not be allowed to use electronic shelf labels or your personal information to charge you more. We need to ban price gouging and surveillance-based pricing.”
The bill directs the Federal Trade Commission to prohibit the sale of any grocery item at an “excessively high” price, with a guiding example defining excessive as 120% or more of the item’s average price over the past six months.
Key provisions of the bill include:
-
Ban on price gouging in brick-and-mortar grocery stores.
-
Ban on surveillance-based pricing that relies on browsing history, previous purchases, or geographic location.
-
Allowance of discounts under clear standards available to all eligible customers.
-
Mandatory disclosure of any use of biometric data such as facial recognition technology.
-
Ban on electronic shelf labels in stores larger than 10,000 square feet, requiring the use of paper or printed tags instead.
The bill has received support from the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union. UFCW President
Milton Jones warned that technologies like electronic shelf labels could enable instant price changes—or even different pricing based on personal data such as income, race, or gender—making them “unfair and potentially discriminatory” practices.
The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Judiciary Committee for discussion.