[LINK] (Mis)use of loyalty card data

Auer, Karl James karl.auer at id.ethz.ch
Mon Aug 30 19:55:01 EST 2004


Interesting perhaps:

   http://www.20min.ch/news/kreuz_und_quer/story/29046904

(its in German).

Migros, one of two *big* supermarket chains in Switzerland, was odered
by a court to provide details of 113 customers who had purchased a
particular type of tool. One of these tools, available only from Migros,
was found at the scene of an arson attack.

Migros complied (of course). The information was available because those
customers had a Migros loyalty card, and because Migros stores
information down to the separate purchase level. Their competitor,
Co-Op, store only the total purchases by date.

None of the 113 customers turned out to be the miscreant. The local
privacy commissioner called the court's request "out of proportion".

Regards, K.

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