Kroger announced it will acquire grocery store Giant Eagle for $1.65 billion. According to a new report from the American Economic Liberties Project (AELP), the bigger expansion may be your data, not stores.
Kroger already builds secret profiles on its shoppers: what you buy and how often, how much you’re willing to pay, how many kids you have, even a guess at your income. AELP warns a merger could pool even more of your data from over 200 stores. That could mean more targeted ads based on your purchase history, personalized offers your neighbor doesn’t get, and even higher prices set based on what Kroger knows about you.
Kroger has denied using facial recognition to set prices. But, its new privacy policy says it collects facial recognition data in select stores.
Before Kroger gets any bigger, shoppers deserve to know what personal information it collects, who gets it, and how it’s used.
Read the full report at AELP.
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