From The Times:
Josh Ryan-Collins, of the New Economics Foundation, said: “There’s a sense that they are using their market power to dominate aspects of the economy. There is a need for more affordable housing but there is a danger with Tesco’s moves. If they provide the mortgage, if they act as estate agent, if they provide a credit card, if they sell you a house, they will end up with more personal information about you than the Government.”
OK. Firstly, the info that Tesco collect via your Clubcard or mortgage statement etc. is entirely voluntarily given, and information on mortgage applications tends to get pooled behind the scenes anyway.
Secondly, the statement is quite simply untrue - Tesco wouldn't have (or shouldn't have) access to HM Revenue & Customs, NHS details, criminal records, Contact Point and Heaven forfend, things like DNA records etc.
Thirdly, if we agree that it is A Bad Thing for large organisations to have 'too much' information on you, why doesn't this particular taxpayer-funded leftie 'think tank' say the same thing about the database state?
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11 comments:
Why not indeed?
Tesco wouldn't have (or shouldn't have) access to.... NHS details.
But it will, through the pharmacy, if the pharmacists are given automatic access which I understand is currently planned.
WOAR, well played! But isn't that the NHS i.e. the government giving them access to this info?
I can't really see how Tesco are "using their market power to dominate aspects of the economy" by diversifying into new areas. I would have thought the NEF ought to welcome them doing that rather than putting their resources into strangling their competitors in the areas they're already in!
And that's before we even get into that nice debate about whether we trust the government or Tesco more...
Thank **** it's not Sainsbury's - Jamie Oliver trying to flog you a 'luverly little doer-upper' from their Basics range..
Urgh..
The "too much information" thing does, indeed, cut across private and public sectors. It is up to us to resist providing it. I don't have a loyalty card - not least because I'm not loyal - and I provide organisations with just as much information as is necessary for us to do business. So, if they ask for my mobile phone details, they don't get it, for example.
AC, that's a good way of looking at it. I trust Tesco more, as it happens.
BTS, fear ye not, Tesco will be building "Tesco Value" flats as well as "Tesco Finest" executive villas (for that is what the article was about).
LR, have you written to your GP (in England) to tell him you do not agree to having your details on the NHS Spine database thingy? PS, I appointed you as Data Protection Minister in my 'bloggers cabinet a year ago - your first job is to just have as much as possible deleted, erased, destroyed, burned etc.
Yes - my GP was one of those unhappy about the spine.
and if you stay too long in one of their car parks then they get info from DVLA about you and your vehicele
Re: the NHS records - I suppose that technically it's not Tesco which has the access but a specific Tesco employee operating under a code of ethics. Phew! I thought we were in trouble for a moment. Oh, wait, here's a summary article from Accountancy Age:
This summer, Tesco traced a customer mistakenly suspected of stealing from one of its stores to her home through her loyalty card after watching her on a CCTV system. But Tesco has no intention of changing its privacy policy. 'An exemption in the Data Protection Act allows details to be used in the prevention and detection of crime,' says a spokeswoman. 'We were wrong, but stand by the action we took.'
The qualification of "prevention and detection" means that data can be mis-used even if it turns out that there was no crime committed nor was there any crime to detect. I don't for a moment think that the fact that the pharmacist is not supposed to hand over the data will make much difference, especially if they are threatened with the loss of their job.
"why doesn't this particular taxpayer-funded leftie 'think tank' say the same thing about the database state?"
Er, why isn't the Pope Protestant?
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