Vetoed bill would limit algorithm-based prices and wages

Businesses would be barred from using a price-setting algorithm informed by surveillance data to set an individual consumer’s price. The rule would cover prices set using an algorithm that substantially relies on information observed, inferred, or acquired about consumers, including personal traits, online activity, or biometrics. The bill describes exceptions for price differences based on costs or timing, qualifying public and loyalty discounts, customer service credits or refunds, need-based discounts, recurring prices not informed by an algorithm, and certain credit decisions. Location data used only to handle jurisdiction, such as displaying local prices or calculating taxes, is excluded from the definition. The bill proposed an August 12, 2026, effective date if no referendum petition were filed; a petition would delay the affected part unless voters approved it in November 2026. The bill would apply to conduct on or after its effective date.

People offering paid work would be barred from using a price or wage algorithm informed by surveillance data to set an individual worker’s wage. The rule would cover employees and other individuals doing compensated work for an employer or another person, subject to the government-worker exclusions. A person could use individualized wages based only on data directly related to the worker’s seniority or hired tasks, including performance or new business, if the person disclosed beforehand what data the algorithm uses and how it uses that data. The definition excludes decisions not to hire a person who has not previously worked for the person or its affiliates, and activities needed to comply with discrimination and pay equity laws. Workers engaged by the federal government, a public entity, or the state are excluded. The bill proposed an August 12, 2026, effective date if no referendum petition were filed; a petition would delay the affected part unless voters approved it in November 2026. The bill would apply to conduct on or after its effective date.

People using a price or wage algorithm would have to publish reasonable procedures for checking the accuracy of data the algorithm considers. The requirement would cover any person using an algorithm that analyzes surveillance data and substantially affects a price or wage offered to an individual. The procedures would have to let workers ask what data is considered when setting particular wages, learn how the algorithm considers it, and correct or challenge inaccurate data. The bill proposed an August 12, 2026, effective date if no referendum petition were filed; a petition would delay the affected part unless voters approved it in November 2026. The bill would apply to conduct on or after its effective date.