Grocery stores banned from using your face to charge you more
S. 3892 — Stop Price Gouging in Grocery Stores Act of 2026 · Filed by Ben Luján (D-NM) · 10 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 12, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill prohibits grocery stores from charging 'grossly excessive' prices and bans 'surveillance-based price setting'—using facial recognition, personal data, or electronic shelf labels to charge different customers different prices based on who they are. Stores larger than 10,000 sq ft must use paper price tags, not digital ones. The FTC enforces it, and consumers can sue for damages.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to regulate retail pricing practices and restrict data-driven price discrimination, enforced through FTC authority and private litigation. It is fundamentally a consumer-protection and anti-discrimination measure, not a subsidy or carve-out.
What the text implies
- The 120% price threshold (or lower, at FTC discretion) may be difficult to enforce uniformly across markets with different baseline costs, potentially creating litigation risk for stores in high-cost regions.
- The ban on electronic shelf labels for stores >10,000 sq ft may increase operational costs and reduce pricing flexibility for legitimate promotional or dynamic pricing strategies that do not involve surveillance.
The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
consumer advocacy organizations; plaintiff's bar (class-action attorneys); smaller retailers (reduced surveillance-tech investment burden)