Maryland AI Dynamic Pricing Act

The Maryland AI Dynamic Pricing Act, formally enacted as Chapter 154 of the 2026 Laws of Maryland and titled the Protection From Predatory Pricing Act, regulates personalized and algorithmic pricing by food retailers and third-party food delivery service providers. Governor Wes Moore approved the Act on April 28, 2026, and it takes effect October 1, 2026. The Act adds new Commercial Law §§ 13-321 and 13-322 and amends Maryland Consumer Protection Act enforcement provisions.

Official text

• Chapter 154, Laws of Maryland 2026 — official enacted text
• Maryland General Assembly HB 895 bill history and documents
• Fiscal and Policy Note, Enrolled-Revised

Background

HB 895 was an Administration bill introduced by the Speaker at the request of the Governor. It was cross-filed with SB 387, assigned to the House Economic Matters Committee and Senate Finance Committee, passed the House 96-32 on third reading, and was approved by the Governor as Chapter 154. Transparency Coalition described HB 895 as part of Maryland's 2026 AI legislative package and characterized the law as the first state prohibition on AI-enabled individualized grocery pricing.

The Department of Legislative Services fiscal note explains the policy concern as algorithmic or data-driven price personalization. It cites Federal Trade Commission work finding that third-party intermediaries can use location, browser history, shopping history, mouse movements, abandoned carts, and other consumer behavior signals to target individual consumers with different prices for the same goods or services.

Entities covered

Commercial Law § 13-321 applies to two categories of businesses:

• Food retailers — merchants operating a business establishment with at least 15,000 square feet that sells food exempt from Maryland sales and use tax under Tax-General § 11-206(c).
• Third-party food delivery service providers — merchants that facilitate, as a consumer service, delivery of food exempt from Maryland sales and use tax. The definition excludes food retailers themselves.

The broader disclosure provision in Commercial Law § 13-322 applies to merchants generally, but excludes insurance-regulated conduct, food retailers and third-party food delivery service providers already covered by § 13-321, certain financial institutions and GLBA-covered affiliates, and lower prices offered to a merchant's own employees.

What the law regulates

Dynamic pricing for food

For covered food retailers and third-party food delivery service providers, the Act prohibits using dynamic pricing to set a higher price for tax-exempt food for a specific consumer. The enrolled law defines dynamic pricing as the discriminatory practice of offering or setting a personalized price for a good or service that is specific to a consumer based on the consumer's personal data, regardless of whether the seller collected or purchased the data, including through AI or models that retrain or recalibrate in near real time.

The law also prohibits covered entities from using surveillance personal data to set a higher price for tax-exempt food for a single consumer or group of consumers. "Personal data" is tied to Maryland's consumer data privacy definition: information linked or reasonably linkable to an identified or identifiable consumer, excluding de-identified data and publicly available information.

Protected class data

Covered food retailers and third-party food delivery service providers may not use protected class data to offer, advertise, or sell a consumer good or service if the use has the effect of withholding or denying an accommodation, advantage, or privilege accorded to others. The Act defines protected class data as information that, alone or in combination, directly or by implication identifies a characteristic legally protected from discrimination under Maryland or federal law.

General algorithmic-pricing disclosure rule

Commercial Law § 13-322 creates a disclosure rule for merchants outside the food-retailer and third-party food-delivery rule. A merchant may not set the price of a consumer good or service using dynamic pricing or personal data and then advertise, promote, label, or otherwise communicate that price unless the communication includes a clear and conspicuous disclosure stating:

"THIS PRICE WAS SET BY AN ALGORITHM OR BY USING YOUR PERSONAL DATA"

The disclosure must appear in the same medium and at or near the price communication, using wording and lettering that is easily visible and understandable to consumers.

Exceptions

The Act excludes several common pricing practices from the dynamic-pricing prohibition. The exclusions include:

• promotional pricing offers, loyalty-program benefits, and temporary discounts related to retaining existing customers;
• price differences based on objective costs of serving different consumers, such as shipping costs or taxes tied to physical location;
• price differences based on costs or supply-and-demand differences in different locations or geographies;
• price differences based on costs associated with availability or supply of the good or service;
• prices offered through voluntary loyalty, membership, or rewards programs;
• prices offered under subscription-based contracts or agreements;
• prices offered to consumers who consent to provide personal data or other information in exchange for the price;
• corrections of pricing errors; and
• resetting a price after a system or network outage.

Enforcement

Violations are treated as unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practices under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act and are subject to MCPA enforcement and civil penalties. The Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the Attorney General enforces the MCPA, including by investigating complaints, attempting conciliation, issuing cease-and-desist orders, or filing civil actions.

Before initiating an enforcement action for a violation of § 13-321 or § 13-322, the Division must issue a notice of violation and provide the alleged violator 45 days after receiving the notice to cure the violation. If the alleged violator cures within that period, the Division may not initiate an enforcement action for that violation.

The Act expressly provides that § 13-321 may not be construed to authorize a private right of action. It also amends Commercial Law § 13-408 to provide that the MCPA private damages action does not apply to violations of § 13-321 or § 13-322.

Under generally applicable MCPA penalty provisions described by the Department of Legislative Services, a merchant may face civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each violation and up to $25,000 for each repetition of the same violation. MCPA also contains misdemeanor penalties of up to $1,000 and/or imprisonment for up to one year, though the Act excludes §§ 13-321 and 13-322 from the separate MCPA private damages action.

Labor provision

The Act also adds Labor and Employment § 4-406. A food retailer may not implement an administrative, operational, or organizational change that diminishes or impairs rights or benefits guaranteed to employees under an existing collective bargaining agreement or memorandum of understanding unless the change is negotiated and mutually agreed with the employees' exclusive representative. Unlike the consumer-pricing provisions, this labor provision allows a person to bring an action for injury or loss, and a prevailing plaintiff may seek reasonable attorney's fees.

Effective date

Although the bill text originally included emergency-measure language, Chapter 154 provides that the Act takes effect October 1, 2026.

See also

• Maryland AI Laws 2026
• United States State Legislation
• AI & Law News for May 1, 2026