24 October 2022
We are concerned that Tesco, a major grocery chain, is barring entry to its stores to people unless they download Tesco's loyalty app or have subscribed to its loyalty scheme. ICCL has written to Tesco's CEO challenging the legality of this action.
Download the PDF of the letter, or read the text below.
Updated on 24 October to add the following note: Tesco is experimenting with a model of store that makes entry conditional on subscription to its loyalty scheme.
Ken Murphy, CEO, Tesco
cc
Dr Andrea Jelenik, Chairperson, European Data Protection Board
John Edwards, UK Information Commissioner
John Allan CBE, Chairman, Tesco
20 October 2022
Entry to Tesco stores conditional on unnecessary data processing
Dear Mr Murphy,
I write on behalf of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), Ireland’s oldest non-profit human rights organisation. It has come to our attention that Tesco has made entry to retail stores in the UK conditional on subscription to the Tesco loyalty scheme. That scheme entails extensive data collection and processing. Entry to grocery stores is an essential requirement of daily life. Making entry to Tesco retail stores conditional on that collection and processing infringes the principle of data minimisation set out in Article 5(c) of the UK GDPR.
We note that Tesco operates 800 stores in the EU (Ireland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary). Tesco’s data broker subsidiary, Dunnhumby, operates undertakings across the EEA (Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Spain). Tesco also holds subsidiaries in mobile telephone and banking.
We will be obliged to take action if Tesco extends to any EEA country the practise of making access to stores conditional on subscription to its loyalty scheme. That action may entail communication, regulatory complaint, and litigation.
We would be grateful if you would draw this to the attention of your Privacy Executive Committee, Group Risk and Compliance Committee, Executive Committee, Audit Committee, and Board.
Sincerely ,
Dr Johnny Ryan
FRHistS Senior Fellow