Colorado House Bill 26-1210 is a piece of consumer and worker protection legislation passed by the Colorado General Assembly during the 2026 regular session. The bill targets the growing practice of using personal data and algorithmic tools to set individualized prices for consumers and individualized wages for workers. If signed by Gov. Jared Polis, HB 26-1210 will become the strongest and most comprehensive legislation in the country prohibiting surveillance pricing and algorithmic wage-setting. 

What the Bill Does

The bill prohibits individualized price setting for consumers, and individualized wage setting for employees, using a price or wage setting algorithm (PWSA), defined as any system using statistical modeling, data analytics, artificial intelligence, or other data processing techniques to analyze “surveillance data.” Surveillance data is broadly defined to include data obtained through observation, inference or surveillance of individuals that relates to personal characteristics, online behaviors, or biometrics of an individual or group.

The Policy Debate

The bill has attracted significant attention from both supporters and opponents. Consumer advocacy groups, including Consumer Reports and the Electronic Privacy Information Center, strongly support the legislation. Consumer Reports describes surveillance pricing as a threat to affordability, pointing to investigations showing that platforms like Instacart have run hidden, AI-enabled pricing experiments that charged consumers up to 23% more for the same item at the same store. 

Business and technology groups, including TechNet, oppose the bill. They argue that its definitions of “surveillance data” and algorithmic decision systems are overbroad, would capture routine and consumer-beneficial pricing practices such as loyalty discounts and dynamic pricing, and would create disproportionate litigation exposure. 

Outlook

The bill has passed both chambers of the Colorado General Assembly and awaits action by Gov. Polis. The governor has expressed skepticism towards the legislation. Whether HB 26-1210 is signed into law, vetoed or allowed to become law without the governor’s signature will determine whether Colorado comprehensively bans surveillance pricing and algorithmic wage setting.