Let California moms keep our coupons and keep government out of it
As a California mom, I don’t wake up wondering whether an algorithm determined which coupon landed in my inbox.I wake up wondering why a quick trip to the grocery store now costs hundreds of dollars.I wonder whether my children will ever be able to afford a home in the state where they were raised.I wonder how many more families are quietly putting groceries on a credit card just to get through the month.
Like millions of parents across California, I’m asking a simple question: When will Sacramento start making life more affordable instead of more complicated?That’s why Assembly Bill 2564, sponsored by Assembly member Chris Ward, feels so disconnected from the reality facing working families.Supporters argue the bill protects consumers from “surveillance pricing.” That’s when businesses use personal data to customize prices.Privacy matters, and Californians deserve transparency.
Companies that misuse consumers’ personal information should be held accountable.But AB 2564 goes much further.It creates another layer of regulation that could make shopping for groceries much more expensive.Every retailer, from the neighborhood market to the local hardware store, will have to devote more resources to attorneys, compliance reviews and risk management.Large corporations may be able to absorb those costs.Small businesses rarely can.When government makes it more expensive to operate a business, those costs often show up through higher prices.Working families ultimately pay the price.In addition, AB 2564 could make it impossible for stores to offer loyalty discounts, or specialized coupons.California already has some of the nation’s strongest consumer privacy protections through the California Consumer Privacy Act and the California Privacy Rights Act.
Before creating another regulatory framework, lawmakers should first demonstrate why the protections Californians already voted for are inadequate.Instead, Sacramento continues offering the same solution to nea...