Bill to Lower Costs, Boost Wages Passes Committee

HB26-1210 would crack down on surveillance pricing

DENVER, CO – The Senate Business, Labor, and Technology Committee today passed legislation sponsored by Senators Mike Weissman, D-Aurora, and Iman Jodeh, D-Aurora, to prohibit corporations from using consumers’ personal data to charge them more or pay them less. 

HB26-1210 would prohibit the use of a price or wage-setting algorithm that uses artificial intelligence and other data processing techniques to strategically set prices or wages based on surveillance of an individual’s data, including browsing and purchase history, financial status, habits, and affiliations.

“Large corporations stack the deck against hardworking Coloradans far more than most of us are aware,” said Weissman. “They’re now using artificial intelligence to set prices as high as they think an individual will pay, and wages as low as they think someone will accept. Colorado families deserve better. I’m proud to sponsor legislation to tackle these unfair pricing practices, protect consumers and workers, and bring down costs.”

“Coloradans deserve to know they’re paying a fair price and have the opportunity to negotiate for a good wage,” said Jodeh. “We all lose when large corporations can set different prices for different people based on sensitive data they’ve collected. This bill stands up for workers and families to ensure that your personal data – like where you live and what you’ve bought in the past – is not used against you to raise prices or keep your wages low.”

Corporations have increasingly weaponized price and wage setting to set prices at the highest amount someone is willing to pay and wages at the lowest amount that someone is willing to accept, based on data that is not publicly accessible and often collected without an individual’s knowledge or consent. For example, if someone searches for funeral homes online and then goes to book a plane ticket, an algorithm may judge that they are traveling for a funeral and would be willing to pay more for the flight. Under the bill, engaging in these price or wage-setting practices would be considered a deceptive trade practice and could result in a civil penalty.

A 2025 Federal Trade Commission report found that individualized pricing tools are being used to target specific consumers with artificially-inflated prices for goods and services based on surveillance data, such as a person’s location or the motion of a computer mouse.

HB26-1210 now heads to the Senate floor for further consideration. Track its progress HERE.