AI Frontier Institute

Prohibit surveillance-based price setting

View primary source →

Minnesota S.F. No. 4199 has not been enacted. It was introduced on 2026-03-09 and referred to the Commerce and Consumer Protection committee. If enacted, it would add a new section, Minnesota Statutes section 325D.141, that bans "surveillance-based price setting" by retail food stores. That term means offering or setting a customized price for a specific consumer or group based at least partly on personal information collected through electronic surveillance technology, such as cameras, sensors, device tracking, biometric monitoring, or facial recognition. Subd. 2(a) would bar a store from adjusting the price of the same or a substantially similar item based on a consumer's personal information, including information from facial recognition. It would also bar a store from using an electronic shelf label to change a consumer's price based on that information. Subd. 2(b) lists safe harbors that a store must demonstrate: cost-based price differences, publicly disclosed group discounts (for example occupation, age, military service, or student status), uniformly offered discounts or rewards, personal information used solely to administer the discount or reward, and bona fide loyalty-program discounts for consumers who knowingly enroll. Subd. 2(c) would allow biometric data use only if the consumer voluntarily verifies their identity with it. The store would also have to give written notice of the collection, its purpose and duration, and when the data is shared with law enforcement. It would have to obtain a written release and never sell or share the data with third parties. Subd. 2(d) preserves purchase-history-based discounts that meet the paragraph (b) conditions. Subd. 3 would require stores using facial recognition to post clear signage at the main entrance explaining its purpose and use. Subd. 4 would bar stores larger than 10,000 square feet from using electronic shelf labels or digital shelf displays unless prices change only once per day at a publicly disclosed time. Such stores would also have to use a nondigital price presentation for each item. The text includes no enforcement mechanism or penalties.

← Back to the tracker