What Is Personalized Pricing—and Why Are Lawmakers Scrambling to Ban It?

The Wall Street Journal cited Covington’s global Data Privacy and Cybersecurity practice group in an article examining personalized pricing and the wave of state legislation seeking to restrict it. In reporting on the legislative response, The Wall Street Journal noted that “so far in 2026, more than 50 bills across more than half of U.S. states have been introduced addressing a variety of pricing practices that involve analyzing consumer data through AI or other automated tools, according to a recent tally by the global data privacy and cybersecurity group at law firm Covington.”

Covington Data Privacy and Cybersecurity lawyers Lindsey Tonsager, Jayne Ponder, and Natalie Maas authored the analysis of the new wave of personalized algorithmic pricing bills cited by The Wall Street Journal. The Covington team has monitored the fast-moving state legislative landscape as lawmakers weigh disclosure requirements, general prohibitions, and restrictions on the use of protected class data in pricing decisions.