Maryland becomes first state to ban surveillance pricing in grocery stores
Maryland becomes first state to ban surveillance pricing in grocery stores
马里兰州成为美国首个禁止杂货店使用“监控定价”的州
Maryland has become the first state in the US to ban surveillance pricing in grocery stores. 马里兰州已成为美国第一个禁止杂货店使用“监控定价”（surveillance pricing）的州。
Maryland’s law bans grocers and third-party delivery services from using a person’s personal data to set higher prices. Wes Moore, the governor, signed the measure into law on Tuesday. “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 then 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,” Moore said at the bill signing ceremony. 马里兰州的这项法律禁止杂货商和第三方配送服务利用个人数据来设定更高的价格。州长韦斯·摩尔（Wes Moore）于周二签署了该法案。摩尔在法案签署仪式上表示：“在科技能够预测我们需要什么、何时需要、何时愿意付费，甚至何时愿意支付更高价格的时代，在大型企业利用这些分析数据来获取创纪录利润的时代，马里兰州不仅仅是在抵制。我们是在向前迈进，因为我们要保护我们的人民。”
When engaging in surveillance pricing, stores rapidly change the cost of products based on consumer data, including their location, internet search history and demographics. That means buyers are paying different prices for the same items purchased around the same time. Critics of this method – also known as dynamic pricing – say that in doing so, businesses are effectively charging each person the most that they’re willing to pay. 在进行“监控定价”时，商店会根据消费者的位置、互联网搜索历史和人口统计数据等信息，迅速调整产品价格。这意味着购买者在同一时间段购买相同商品时，支付的价格却各不相同。这种方法也被称为“动态定价”，批评者认为，企业通过这种方式实际上是在向每个人收取他们愿意支付的最高价格。
While Maryland’s new law focuses on grocery stores, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has documented examples of surveillance pricing in stores selling clothing, beauty products, home goods and hardware. Consumer groups note there is an added urgency when it comes to grocery stores, though, given that they affect Americans’ ability to access affordable food. 虽然马里兰州的新法主要针对杂货店，但美国联邦贸易委员会（FTC）已记录了服装、美容产品、家居用品和五金店中存在监控定价的案例。消费者团体指出，考虑到杂货店直接影响美国人获取平价食品的能力，针对杂货店的监管显得尤为紧迫。
Bills being considered in Colorado, California, Massachusetts, Illinois and New Jersey may likewise regulate surveillance pricing. The US federal government has weighed in as well. The Federal Trade Commission, under the Biden administration, opened an investigation into these pricing practices and published initial findings from a study last January that found companies use an expansive range of personal data in setting varying prices for buyers. But it’s unlikely the current administration will crack down on surveillance pricing, given that the current FTC chair, Andrew Ferguson, characterized the previous administration’s report as a rush job. It’s in this context of federal inaction, that states like Maryland need to take action says Tom McBrien, counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (Epic). 科罗拉多州、加利福尼亚州、马萨诸塞州、伊利诺伊州和新泽西州正在审议的法案也可能对监控定价进行监管。美国联邦政府也介入了此事。拜登政府领导下的联邦贸易委员会对这些定价行为展开了调查，并在去年一月发布了初步研究结果，发现企业利用广泛的个人数据为买家设定差异化价格。但鉴于现任联邦贸易委员会主席安德鲁·弗格森（Andrew Ferguson）将前任政府的报告描述为“仓促之作”，现任政府不太可能对监控定价采取严厉打击措施。电子隐私信息中心（Epic）的法律顾问汤姆·麦克布莱恩（Tom McBrien）表示，正是在联邦政府不作为的背景下，像马里兰州这样的州才需要采取行动。
Anti-surveillance advocates say the new law is riddled with industry carveouts that will make it harder to protect consumers. They welcomed Maryland’s focus on the practice but say they are concerned about loopholes inserted as a result of industry lobbying. “We’re excited Maryland took this step but we do have serious concerns,” McBrien says. “The exemptions allow other ways of arriving at the same outcome that are just harder for consumers to detect.” 反监控倡导者表示，这项新法律充斥着为行业留出的“豁免条款”，这将使保护消费者变得更加困难。他们对马里兰州关注这一问题表示欢迎，但同时也对因行业游说而产生的漏洞表示担忧。麦克布莱恩说：“我们很高兴马里兰州迈出了这一步，但我们确实有严重的担忧。这些豁免条款允许企业通过其他方式达到同样的结果，而消费者却更难察觉。”
Maryland’s law includes exemptions for loyalty programs and promotional offers. While the law bans setting higher prices through surveillance pricing, it doesn’t address reducing prices. If a company raises its prices for everyone, and then offers individualized discounts, “suddenly you’ve arrived at the same outcome,” McBrien says. 马里兰州的法律包含了针对忠诚度计划和促销优惠的豁免。虽然该法禁止通过监控定价设定更高价格，但并未涉及降价行为。麦克布莱恩指出，如果一家公司先提高所有人的价格，然后再提供个性化折扣，“那么你最终还是会得到同样的结果。”
Consumer Reports, a non-profit which investigated Instacart’s pricing, said in a statement that it appreciated Moore prioritizing the issue but decried the law’s “weak enforcement provisions”. “We urge Maryland lawmakers to revisit the legislation next year to build in stronger consumer protections and remove loopholes that undermine the intent of this law,” it said. Instacart announced it would no longer be using technology that allows grocery stores to charge different shoppers different prices for the same groceries after a Consumer Reports investigation last year exposed the practice. 曾调查过 Instacart 定价策略的非营利组织《消费者报告》（Consumer Reports）在一份声明中表示，感谢摩尔州长优先处理这一问题，但谴责该法律的“执法条款软弱无力”。该组织表示：“我们敦促马里兰州立法者明年重新审议该法案，以建立更强有力的消费者保护机制，并消除那些削弱法律初衷的漏洞。”在《消费者报告》去年曝光相关做法后，Instacart 宣布将不再使用允许杂货店对不同购物者收取不同价格的技术。
A statement from Instacart read: “Instacart has never engaged in that practice, and we support this legislation’s core principle: that prices should never be personalized based on a customer’s individual data.” Instacart 的一份声明写道：“Instacart 从未参与过这种做法，我们支持这项立法的核心原则：价格绝不应基于客户的个人数据进行个性化定制。”
The harshest critics of Maryland’s new law believe it does not just lack enforcement but erodes existing rights. They point, in particular, to a provision that only allows the state’s attorney general – and not individuals – to enforce the law. “The private right of action is a fundamental piece of accountability,” says Lee Hepner, senior legal counsel at the American Economic Liberties Project. “A meaningful threat of enforcement is the only effective deterrent to violating the law.” 马里兰州新法最严厉的批评者认为，该法不仅缺乏执行力，还侵蚀了现有的权利。他们特别指出，该法案中有一项条款仅允许州总检察长（而非个人）执行该法律。美国经济自由项目（American Economic Liberties Project）的高级法律顾问李·赫普纳（Lee Hepner）表示：“私人诉讼权是问责制的基本组成部分。有效的执法威胁是阻止违法行为的唯一有效手段。”
“The biggest threat of the Maryland bill is that other states will see it as a model bill that they should replicate in their own jurisdictions,” Hepner says. “It is very important for us – as we try to get this legislation right in states from Colorado to California to New York – that the Maryland bill not be held up as a model, but in fact be recognized as an industry-written permission slip to engage in ongoing discrimination.” “马里兰州法案最大的威胁在于，其他州可能会将其视为应在各自司法管辖区复制的模范法案，”赫普纳说。“对于我们来说，在努力推动科罗拉多州、加利福尼亚州到纽约州等地的立法时，非常重要的一点是：马里兰州的法案不应被视为典范，而应被认清为一份由行业编写的、允许其继续进行歧视行为的‘通行证’。”