Home Depot Shares Customer Information Without Consent

Home Depot of Canada Inc. shared details from eReceipts – including encoded eMail addresses and in-store purchase information – with Meta, which operates the Facebook social media platform, without the knowledge or consent of customers. An investigation by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) finds that the information was transferred because of Home Depot Canada’s participation in Meta Platforms Inc.’s ‘Offline Conversions’ program. “As businesses increasingly look to deliver services electronically, they must carefully consider any consequential uses of personal information, which may require additional consent,” says Philippe Dufresne, Canada’s privacy commissioner. “In this case, it is unlikely that Home Depot customers would have expected that their personal information would be shared with a third-party social media platform simply because they opted for an electronic receipt.” He adds companies must obtain valid consent at the point of sale to engage in this type of business activity. Home Depot was fully co-operative throughout the investigation and agreed to implement the OPC’s recommendations. The company has stopped sharing customer information with Meta.