What is “Surveillance Pricing” and Why is Mayor Chow Calling for a Ban on It?
Surveillance pricing, also known as personalized pricing, algorithmic pricing, or behavioral pricing, involves collecting detailed personal information about consumers—such as browsing history, location, income, device type, and purchase patterns—to determine how much each individual is willing to pay for a product or service.
Unlike traditional dynamic pricing, which adjusts prices based on general market conditions, surveillance pricing specifically targets individual consumers using algorithms and artificial intelligence to maximize the seller’s revenue.
As Mayor Olivia Chow explains, “Surveillance pricing depends on who’s looking, when they’re looking, and how much they can afford to pay for the item.”
For example, “By analyzing our personal data, retailers can charge more for milk from a busy mother of three whose kids go through multiple cartons a week,” Chow said at a news conference on July 21, 2026.
Chow’s motion, seconded by Councilor Alejandra Bravo, follows a similar initiative by the Manitoba government, which ended what it deemed the “predatory” online pricing model in March.
Chow also pointed out that one major issue with this practice is that customers may not even be aware that they are being targeted for higher prices. “We need to identify all possible mechanisms to ban this surveillance pricing completely,” she stated. Chow and Bravo will present the motion to the executive committee today.
“As the level of government closest to people’s day-to-day lives, we need to help reduce people’s costs,” Chow added. “We’re doing that already by freezing TTC fares and our school food program. But we need to go further and protect people from this emerging grocery rip-off, before it’s too late.
What is particularly concerning is that this pricing model is not limited to grocery items; it is gaining traction across various sectors and industries worldwide, with reports of its use in areas such as hospitality, concert ticketing, and ridesharing.
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