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John,
Did you know that corporations are purchasing massive amounts of your personal information, then using it to determine whether they think you’ll pay more for an item?
That’s right! By using facial recognition technology in the store, or through mobile apps and online shopping, corporations are creating personal profiles of each and every one of us—and then determining what they think we’re willing to pay for any given item.
This is known as surveillance pricing, and it could mean that you’re paying a different price for a bag of grapes or a box of Corn Flakes than the person next to you in line.
Corporations are also using something known as surge pricing to raise prices on items that might be necessary in that moment. Through the use of electronic labels, they can raise and lower prices at will. If it’s raining outside, maybe they raise the price of an umbrella or rain poncho. If it’s hot outside, they might raise the price of water or ice.
This is an outrageous example of corporate greed―especially at a time when 47 million Americans, including 7 million children, are food insecure. Grocery prices have already skyrocketed by 28% since 2020, and charging needy families more is unconscionable.
That’s why I’ve introduced the Stop Price Gouging in Grocery Stores Act and I’m co-leading the Stop AI Price Gouging and Wage Fixing Act to address our country’s affordability crisis and protect people from corporate greed.
Add your name as a grassroots co-sponsor of these policies today to help struggling families and hold greedy corporations accountable.
The Stop Price Gouging in Grocery Stores Act would:
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prohibit surveillance pricing in retail food stores, providing narrow exceptions for discounts for students and seniors;
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require food stores to disclose the use of facial recognition technology;
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ban electronic shelf labels in large retail and grocery stores;
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require the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) to enforce these bans and hold corporations accountable.
I will keep advocating for working families and the majority of Americans who are living paycheck to paycheck. Thank you for demanding Congress put the needs of everyday people over corporate profits.
With you in this fight,
Rashida
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Rashida Tlaib
Date: Tue, Aug 19, 2025
Subject: Sign: Ban price gouging in grocery stories
To: [email protected]
JOHN,
We’ve seen corporations exploit crises like hurricanes and pandemics to raise prices and price gouge the American people. Now they’re using new technology to inflate grocery prices, even though most Americans are already struggling to afford food.
Have you heard of surge pricing? What about surveillance pricing?
One grocery industry analyst told National Public Radio that, using electronic shelf labels rather than price stickers, grocery stores can raise and lower prices at will: “If it’s hot outside, we can raise the price of water and ice cream.”1 But that’s not all.
Big grocery chains are also gathering consumers’ personal data, creating profiles on each and every one of us. They then pair these profiles with the use of mobile apps, online shopping, and even cameras at check-out lanes with facial recognition technology to raise prices on items based on an algorithm’s assessment of your ability to pay. This is surveillance pricing, and it often hits Black and brown communities the hardest.
Target has even been known to raise prices on consumers who are using the Target mobile app while in the store. Their thinking is, you’re already there and will pay whatever price they give you. This is predatory pricing and we’ve got to stop it.
To combat corporate greed and demand consumers’ rights, I’ve introduced the Stop Price Gouging in Grocery Stores Act. Will you add your name now as a grassroots co-sponsor to demand Congress put people over profits?
Many of my colleagues in Congress ran on a promise to lower prices for everyday people.
But most also take money from corporations. And as part of their Big Budget Betrayal, Republicans massively cut SNAP nutrition benefits―which will directly harm millions of families’ access to nutritious food―and refused to renew the Affordable Care Act premium tax credit, which has helped working people afford healthcare.
They’re more interested in handing billionaires tax breaks and allowing corporations to rake in record profits, all at our expense.
My Stop Price Gouging in Grocery Stores Act would:
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prohibit surveillance pricing in retail food stores (providing narrow exceptions for discounts for students and seniors)
-
require food stores to disclose the use of facial recognition technology
-
ban electronic shelf labels in large retail and grocery stores
-
require the Federal Trade Commission to enforce these bans and hold corporations accountable
I’m also co-leading the Stop AI Price Gouging and Wage Fixing Act with Rep. Greg Casar to prohibit all companies from using surveillance data to raise prices or lower wages.
Add your name now as a grassroots co-sponsor of the Stop Price Gouging in Grocery Stores Act and the Stop AI Price Gouging and Wage Fixing Act to protect consumers from corporate greed.
Together, we’re demanding Congress stop exploitation and prioritize the needs of working people over enriching billionaires and fueling corporate greed.
Thank you for taking action today,
Rashida
1 A supermarket trip may soon look different, thanks to electronic shelf labels
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