PHOENIX, Ariz. (KGUN) — Senator Gallego is pushing new legislation called the One Fair Price Act aimed at blocking what he and backers call "surveillance pricing" — the practice of using highly specific personal data to charge different prices to individual customers.
Gallego told me the effort is rooted in his working‑class upbringing and a belief that consumers should have the same power as retailers when it comes to price information. Watch the full interview below:
"What we're trying to stop," he said, "is companies with a lot more data and information than the consumer using that information to find a point…where they could exploit what you're going through, where you are, and what's happening in your life right now."
Under the bill, Gallego said companies would be barred from using fine‑grained personal information — such as a person's precise location, the timing and specific circumstances of their life events, or even their emotional state — to set individual prices. The senator framed the measure as bipartisan, pro‑consumer and pro‑capitalist, arguing that limiting exploitative tactics will let markets function more fairly by ensuring buyers have the information they need to make informed purchasing decisions.
Gallego offered concrete examples of the practices he wants to stop. He cited an episode in which an airline executive reportedly discussed using surveillance data to identify a customer's "pain point" — for instance, spotting that a passenger needed to buy a last‑minute flight after a family emergency and raising a fare targeted only at that traveler. He also pointed to cases consumers have reported where ride‑hail fares jumped when a phone battery was very low and regional pricing differences — such as higher rates for SAT prep in neighborhoods with high concentrations of Asian‑American families — that he said amounted to discriminatory or exploitative pricing.
Related: Gallego's new bill would make it illegal for algorithms to gouge you
If the bill is enacted, Gallego said consumers would gain legal remedies. The legislation would make certain practices illegal, and individuals who believe they were overcharged could sue; aggregated claims could lead to larger lawsuits against companies that violate the law. He described litigation as a mechanism to make companies "internalize good practices" rather than exploit individual buyers.
Gallego emphasized bipartisan potential for the proposal, saying it is rare but real: "Republicans and Democrats want consumers to have just as much power and just as much information as a retailer so they could actually make logical decisions." He urged public education on the issue and hopes to build support across the political aisle by framing the measure as protecting consumers and fair competition.
Next steps, Gallego said, are straightforward: pass the bill — but first, he added, lawmakers must raise awareness so constituents recognize when they might be paying a different price because of their personal circumstances.
The One Fair Price Act proposal arrives amid growing scrutiny of data‑driven business practices and calls from lawmakers and consumer advocates for stronger limits on how companies collect and use personal information to influence pricing. Gallego said the intent is not to eliminate legitimate marketing or competitive pricing strategies but to stop the use of intimate, real‑time personal data to single out and exploit buyers.
