Gov. Jared Polis, the Democratic governor of Colorado, vetoed a bill Tuesday intended to crack down on surveillance pricing, the controversial practice of charging individuals customized prices based on personal data gleaned by retailers. The bill, known as House Bill 26-1210, was introduced by Javier Mabrey and Jennifer Bacon, both Democratic lawmakers in the state. But Polis, who recently made headlines by freeing election denier Tina Peters under pressure from President Donald Trump, argued that the bill would prohibit retailers from offering discounted prices. In a letter explaining his veto, Polis said that he could “appreciate the intention” behind the bill, but he had concerns about the scope of what it regulated. “Instead of specifically defining and targeting unethical conduct and practices, the bill takes a broader approach to capture any technology that incidentally influences a price or wage amount,” Polis wrote. “Because of the broad sweep, the bill would punish differentially lower prices, not just higher prices.”
The governor went on to write that he worried the bill would “inadvertently capture innocuous uses of technology that in no way harms—and indeed benefits—consumers and workers.” ‘This is a good bill’ Some experts disagree with Polis, who is currently serving his second term as governor and will leave office in January 2027, about what the bill would do. George Slover, Senior Counsel for Competition Policy at the Center for Democracy & Technology, told Gizmodo that his group was disappointed to see the legislation vetoed.
