Why is Home Depot facing a class action lawsuit? Drama explained

Retail corporation Home Depot is facing a class action lawsuit alleging that the shopping giant gathered information when the shoppers opted for email receipts. The timeline for the accusation is between October 2018 and October 2022.

The lawsuit, filed in British Columbia, alleges that the corporation collected information like the brands purchased by the shopper, sales amount, and other information related to the customer’s email address.

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The retailer was accused of sharing the information with tech giants like Meta without the consent of the buyers. According to the plaintiff’s legal counsel Jamie L. Thornback,

“A lot of people probably don’t understand that when they go into a store like Home Depot and share their email address, if Home Depot goes on to share that with Facebook or other companies, that information then goes into that online world of being tracked.”

The retail corporation stated that customers had no reasonable expectation of privacy in the information shared with Meta because it was ‘high-level’ and ‘less sensitive.’ However, Justice Peter Edelmann did not seem to agree with the claim as he wrote:

“The pleading, as I understand it, is that Home Depot's customers had a reasonable expectation that their purchase data would not be compiled and shared with Meta to be used not only to generate marketing information for Home Depot but also for Meta's own marketing purposes, including user profiling and targeted advertising unrelated to Home Depot.”

A class action lawsuit specialist David Klein emphasized that the case certification and the privacy commissioner's report highlight the importance of retailers respecting customer privacy and refraining from sharing personal information without consent. He said the class members have chances of winning a few dollars over time.

Justice Peter Edelmann certified the class action lawsuit against Home Depot on January 7, 2025

Justice Edelmann certified the class action lawsuit on January 7, 2025, though it does not confirm the accusations. Around six million emails are in question pertaining to the lawsuit.

His ruling noted that Meta provided a service to assist the corporation in analyzing the effectiveness of its social media advertising campaigns and their connection to in-store sales.

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The decision questioned the retailer’s stance, highlighting the company's ability to manage extensive data for marketing purposes while seemingly lacking the capability to evaluate the impact on the individuals involved.

According to Newsweek, people from British Columbia who have purchased goods from the corporation and received an email receipt between October 2018 and October 2022 constitute the class in this lawsuit. The only requirement is that they must have provided their email addresses and got the receipt within the timeline.

The news outlet also mentioned that Home Depot's U.S. and Canadian privacy policies state that the company collects, uses, and shares personal information to fulfill orders, enhance offerings, ensure consistent experiences, and protect customer and company rights.

The U.S. policy applies to interactions via websites, devices, social media, phone, email, and store visits, with data gathered both directly and through partners. The Canadian policy, referencing platforms like Facebook and Instagram, outlines collected details, including contact information, government-issued IDs, demographic data, account credentials, and property specifics like square footage and lot size.

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Edited by Zainab Shaikh