Creates the surveillance pricing and online retailing act that would prohibit algorithmic price increases for online purchases.

Plain-English Summary

This Rhode Island bill, called the "Surveillance Pricing and Online Retailing Act," would ban a practice where online retailers use computer algorithms to raise prices on individual shoppers based on personal data collected about them. This type of pricing — sometimes called "surveillance pricing" or "dynamic pricing" — occurs when a company's software analyzes information like your browsing history, location, device type, or shopping habits to charge you a higher price than it might charge someone else for the exact same product.

The bill would affect anyone who shops online and buys goods from retailers operating in Rhode Island, as well as the companies that sell to them. Under this legislation, businesses would be prohibited from using these automated, data-driven systems to inflate prices based on a shopper's personal profile. The goal is to ensure that consumers are treated equally at the checkout, rather than being quietly charged more because an algorithm determined they might be willing to pay it.

As of now, the bill has been referred to the House Corporations Committee and was scheduled for a hearing in March 2026, but the committee has recommended it be held for further study, meaning it has not yet moved forward in the legislative process. No final vote has been taken, and the bill could be revised, advanced, or set aside in the future.