Press Release
For Immediate Release
Contact Information
Alex Hudson
206-806-1602
Alex.Hudson@seattle.gov
Seattle Becomes First City to Stop Grocery Stores from Using AI Based Personal Data to Set Prices
City leaders approve new rules to protect shoppers and keep grocery costs transparent and fair for all
SEATTLE – Mayor Katie B. Wilson and City Councilmember Alexis Mercades Rinck are committed to protecting people’s privacy and making sure grocery prices are fair, transparent, and affordable. And today, with co-sponsors Councilmembers Dionne Foster and Rob Saka, the Full Council approved the Fair and Transparent Pricing policy, a first‑in‑the‑nation city-led consumer protection measure designed to stop grocery retailers from using personal data to set different prices for different customers.
“Food is an essential good that’s getting more expensive all the time,” said Mayor Katie Wilson. “People have been clear: they don’t want their data fed into algorithms that decide how much they pay at the grocery store. Everyone deserves transparent pricing and equal treatment, not hidden systems that charge some shoppers more than others.”
“Groceries are getting more expensive for everyday Seattleites, while the buying, selling, and leveraging our private information to manipulate prices is making big national grocery corporations millions in profits,” said City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck. “This legislation is intended to put some guardrails on what big businesses can do with our personal information. At a time when SNAP reductions have rocked our community and people have less to spend on food, this is an important step we can take to prevent AI-assisted price gouging and ensure fair discounts for everyone.”
The policy, developed through months of collaboration with labor partners, industry stakeholders, and community advocates, marks a major step toward making everyday essentials more affordable and ensuring pricing practices are fair, open, and consistent.
"Today’s vote demonstrates the immense power of working people standing together with the communities we serve,” said UFCW 3000 Secretary-Treasurer Sean Embly. "When we work together, we can protect our neighborhood stores from predatory practices that put profits over people. We hope the passage of this legislation helps us all return to the work of feeding our communities instead of feeding Wall Street’s greed.”
The Fair Pricing policy prevents large online and brick‑and‑mortar grocery retailers from using sensitive personal information—including employment status, race, gender, browsing history, social media activity, or chatbot conversations—to manipulate the prices customers pay. Prices must be clearly posted and available to all shoppers. Traditional coupons and transparent discounts for groups such as seniors or veterans remain fully protected.
This policy is expected to deliver important benefits for Seattle residents. It will curb emerging practices in which corporations use artificial intelligence and personal data to drive prices higher for certain customers. Investigations across the country, including recent reporting involving Seattle shoppers, have shown that algorithm‑based pricing can lead to dramatically different costs for the same products. Seattle’s action sets clear guardrails for the use of data and ensures grocery pricing stays rooted in fairness rather than surveillance‑driven targeting.
The Fair Pricing policy also aligns Seattle with national efforts to protect consumers from discriminatory and deceptive pricing practices. States such as New Jersey have set similar standards, and Seattle’s measure moves the city to the forefront of responsible technology governance and consumer protection.
More information about the policy is available online.
What People are Saying
Rob Saka, City Councilmember, District 1
“I am excited to see the fair pricing legislation pass because it gives our community what they have requested. Neighbors have been clear that fair and transparent pricing is essential for keeping groceries affordable. This new ordinance reflects the voices of our community and helps ensure a more equitable future for everyone. I appreciate the leadership Mayor Wilson and my co-sponsors Councilmember Rinck and Councilmember Foster have displayed in developing and shepherding this critical legislation.”
Dionne Foster, City Councilmember, District 9
"Grocery prices should be based on the cost of an item, not how valuable the customer’s information is to the company selling it. With the passage of this legislation, Seattle is putting clear consumer protections in place so companies can't use what they know about you to decide what they think you'll pay. Prices should be clear and fair, and the same rules should apply to everyone.“
Katie Garrow, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, MLK Labor
“In Seattle, union members are responsible for some of this region's greatest contributions to society. SPEEA represented engineers at Boeing designed the 747, the Queen of the Skies, using only a pencil and paper. It was an airplane designed before computers. SEIU 925 members at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) tracked the transmission and trends of the COVID-19 virus, informing the world’s response to a global pandemic. Workers in Seattle passed the first ever $15 minimum wage.
Today, we add to our list of innovations: union members of UFCW 3000 partnered with Seattle elected leaders to pass the country's strongest surveillance pricing ordinance. A win for consumers and workers alike. Now, grocery stores will not be allowed to profile a mom shopping for formula or prey on older seniors doing their weekly shop. Furthermore, our members will no longer be expected to defend predatory practices dictated by corporate headquarters.
We thank the Mayor of Seattle, Katie Wilson, our legislative sponsors—Councilmembers Rinck, Foster, and Saka, and the councilmembers who joined them in voting yes on this ordinance, and all union workers in Seattle who testified and wrote letters in support of our fight for fairness and fresh food for all.”
Grace Gedye, Senior Policy Analyst, Consumer Reports
“Nobody should pay more for basic necessities because a data broker is quietly collecting information about what they’re searching for online, what they hover over, what their income is, or where they go. The price you see shouldn’t be different based on who you are. Mayor Wilson and the city council have made Seattle a leader on protecting shoppers from unfair grocery pricing tactics with this bill. We commend this work.”
Vinhcent Le, VP of AI Policy, TechEquity Action
"Shoppers at the same Seattle Safeway were shown different prices for the same box of crackers, using a system built to find out how much each of us can be squeezed. This law makes a simple promise: when you buy groceries in Seattle, your price won't depend on what an algorithm thinks you're willing to pay. We applaud Mayor Wilson and the Council for protecting shoppers from surveillance pricing."
Zo March, Seattle Grocery Store Worker
“This law helps level the playing field for Seattle families and small grocers by stopping grocery giants from squeezing every penny out of their customers. Smaller chains, like where I work, can’t and don’t want to get involved in this tech race to the bottom. We’d rather participate in healthy competition over things like customer service and product quality—not taking advantage of customers.”
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