The ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) has suggested for loyalty plans operated by Telstra and the big 4 banks to enhance data methods in its concluding report into user loyalty plans.
In calling for wider alterations to be made to privacy and consumer laws, the final report by ACCC has put forward 5 major suggestions to deal with its concerns around how current loyalty plans do not present conditions, terms, and privacy rules in a manner users can simply understand; and are using, collecting, and revealing user info in manners that does not line up with user preferences, comprising offering limited control and insight over the sharing of their info with unidentified 3rd parties.
One more primary issue summarized in the report was regarding how loyalty plans are linking payment cards of members automatically to their loyalty plan profiles to trace purchasing history even if users do not scan their loyalty cards actively.
“Many users are more and more worried about getting targeted ads, in some instances from firms that they have never cope with earlier,” Rod Sims, ACCC chair, claimed to the media.
“There is also an up-and-coming danger of real user damage if separate users were to be charged inflated costs on the basis of profiling resulting from their info. For instance, if online search history or frequent flyer data of a person shows that they can only travel on specific dates, or otherwise on the basis of their geographic location, income, or other data gathered via the loyalty plan they might be charged more.”
The ACCC needs to see upgrades be made to the Privacy Act. These comprise strengthening consent needs, upgrading the definition of “personal data,” and any settings for extra data gathering be set to “off” by default, and need bodies to erase personal information of a consumer “without undue holdup.”