Sponsors (70)
Introduced August 12, 2025 by Rashida Tlaib · Last progress August 12, 2025
The bill strengthens consumer privacy, price‑gouging limits, and gives consumers strong enforcement tools, but it imposes significant compliance, liability, and operational costs on retailers that could raise prices, slow technological adoption, and create regulatory uncertainty.
Most shoppers (especially low- and middle-income households) face lower risk of 'grossly excessive' food prices because the bill restricts opportunistic price gouging for retail food items.
Consumers gain stronger privacy and anti-surveillance protections: the bill bars using personal/biometric data (including facial recognition) to set individualized prices and requires notice/consent and limits on selling/sharing biometric data.
Consumers obtain robust enforcement remedies: private suits with statutory damages (greater of actual damages or $3,000 per violation), possible treble damages for willful violations, FTC and state enforcement authority, recovery of attorney fees, and no enforced pre-dispute arbitration/class-waivers for these claims.
Small and national retailers face substantially higher litigation and liability risk (statutory damages per violation, treble for willful violations, FTC/state/private suits, and unenforceable arbitration/class waivers), which will raise compliance costs and likely be passed to consumers via higher prices.
Small retailers and shoppers face increased compliance costs and regulatory uncertainty (signage, recordkeeping for biometric consents/exceptions, paper price displays, documenting practices) that could raise prices, reduce inventory, or drive some businesses out of the market.
Restrictions on digital pricing, surveillance-based price setting, and some biometric/behavioral data uses will limit retailers' ability to use electronic shelf labels, automated/real-time pricing, and cashierless checkout, reducing operational efficiency, slowing innovation, and potentially increasing waste.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits retail food stores from charging "grossly excessive" prices and from using surveillance-based pricing that customizes prices for shoppers based on personal data (including facial recognition). Requires the Federal Trade Commission to write rules that define excessive pricing and markets, requires clear in-store notice when facial recognition is used, bans electronic shelf labels in large stores (over 10,000 sq ft), creates enforcement tools for the FTC and state attorneys general, and creates a private right of action for consumers. Authorizes $5 million for implementation for FY2025 through 2032.