Protection From Predatory Pricing Act (dynamic pricing and personal data in food retail and delivery)
MD Protection From Predatory Pricing Act
Other · Artificial intelligence
This 2026 administration bill bars large grocery stores and food delivery apps from using consumers' personal data to charge an individual consumer a higher, personalized price for tax-exempt food (for example through AI-driven pricing), and from using protected-class data in a way that denies a consumer an advantage or privilege offered to others. Loyalty programs, cost- and location-based differences, consented data-for-price offers, and error corrections are excluded.
- Where
- Maryland
- Citation
- Md. Code, Com. Law §§ 13-321 to 13-322 (added by 2026 Md. Laws ch. 154)
- Status
- Enacted, not yet in force
- In force since
- 2026-10-01
- Enforced by
- Consumer Protection Division, Office of the Attorney General
- People can sue
- No
- Penalties
- Unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practice under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act, subject to its civil penalty provisions but not its private right of action. The Attorney General must first issue a notice of violation and allow 45 days to cure.
- Applies to
- Food retailers operating establishments of at least 15,000 square feet that sell food exempt from sales and use tax
- Third-party delivery service providers that facilitate delivery of tax-exempt food (not including food retailers)
Practices it requires
- Do not engage in dynamic pricing, meaning a personalized price specific to a consumer based on the consumer's personal data (whether collected or purchased), or otherwise use personal data to set a higher price for tax-exempt food.Com. Law 13-321 (2026 Md. Laws ch. 154) · Only if: Exclusions for promotions, loyalty or subscription pricing, cost- or geography-based differences, consented data-for-price offers, pricing errors, and outage resets · From 2026-10-01
- Do not use protected class data to offer, advertise, or sell a good or service where doing so withholds or denies an accommodation, advantage, or privilege provided to others.Com. Law 13-321 (2026 Md. Laws ch. 154) · From 2026-10-01
Sources
- Official text
- 2026 Md. Laws ch. 154 (HB 895), effective 2026-10-01
- HB 895 (2026) Fiscal and Policy Note (Enrolled - Revised), Department of Legislative Services
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Unverified: Codified text was not yet on the online Code (fetched 2026-09-25). The chapter PDF's strike-through markup did not survive text extraction, so provisions were summarized from the DLS Fiscal and Policy Note. Exact subsection cites within 13-321/13-322 (and whether 13-322 holds the cure provision) should be confirmed once codified. | The chapter also lists Lab. & Empl. § 4-406 as added; its content was not reviewed.
Research reference, not legal advice.