HB 26-1210

HB 26-1210, which has been signed into law in Colorado, prohibits businesses from using surveillance data to set prices for consumers or wages for workers through automated decision systems. This means companies can't use information like your online behavior or personal characteristics to determine how much you pay for a product or what wage you are offered. The law applies to private sector employees and consumers but not federal or state government workers. If a company violates this rule, the state attorney general or affected individuals can take legal action against them.

Official Summary

Surveillance data is defined in the bill as data that is obtained through observation, inference, or surveillance of consumers or workers and that is related to personal characteristics, online behaviors, or biometrics of an individual or group , band, class, or tier to which the individual belongs. The definition of 'worker' excludes federal and state employees and employees of public entities. The bill prohibits discrimination against a consumer or worker through the use of automated decision systems used to engage a price or wage setting algorithm (PWSA) that uses statistical modeling, data analytics, artificial intelligence, or other data processing techniques to analyze surveillance data, the output of which is a substantial factor in:Individualized price setting based on surveillance data regarding used to determine the amount charged to a consumer; orIndividualized wage setting based on surveillance data regarding used to determine the wage offered to a worker.      An automated decision system is defined in the bill and includes, in part, information derived from any technology, software, program, machine-based system, or computational process that uses artificial intelligence or other data processing techniques to assist, inform, or replace human decision-making.     The bill also specifies activities that are not prohibited as individualized price or wage setting based on surveillance data regarding a consumer or worker.      A person that uses a PWSA shall develop and publish reasonable procedures to ensure the accuracy of data considered by the PWSA, to allow workers to request and receive information about what data is collected by the PWSA when setting particular wages, and to allow a worker to correct or challenge the accuracy of that data.      The attorney general or a district attorney may bring a civil action on behalf of the state against a person that violates the prohibition against individualized price or wage setting based on surveillance data to seek the imposition of civil penalties. In addition, a person aggrieved by a violation of the prohibition specified in the bill may bring a civil action on behalf of themself or a group of similarly situated persons to restrain further violations and to recover damages, costs, and reasonable attorney fees.      The bill authorizes the attorney general to adopt rules to implement and enforce the bill.     A violation of the prohibition against individualized price setting or individualized wage setting is a deceptive trade practice under the 'Colorado Consumer Protection Act' (act), and is subject to the enforcement and penalty provisions authorized under the act.(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

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