MN bills target AI 'surveillance pricing' at grocers, retailers

DFL lawmakers at the Minnesota Capitol are pushing two new bills that would ban "surveillance pricing"—AI tools that track individual shoppers and quietly charge them different prices for the same items—first in grocery stores and then across other businesses. The move follows FOX 9’s own test of the Cub Foods app, which found a frequent shopper in Minnesota was quoted higher prices on soy sauce, eggs and orange juice than an infrequent shopper at the same store, raising concerns that loyal Twin Cities customers are being penalized for their habits. Bill author Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn (DFL–Eden Prairie) says legislators need to "set the framework" before corporations race ahead of regulation, while Rep. Andy Smith (DFL–Rochester) argues most Minnesotans will see such hidden price gaps as fundamentally unfair. Tech‑industry group Chamber of Progress counters there’s still no comprehensive evidence of systematic harm from personalized pricing, setting up an inevitable fight at committee between consumer‑protection advocates and companies that have invested heavily in dynamic pricing systems. For metro residents already squeezed by groceries and rent, the story is touching a nerve online: social feeds are full of shoppers swapping screenshots and warning that the old price tag is no longer a guarantee everyone in the aisle is paying the same thing.