Think Your PC Optimum Data Was Deleted? Feds Just Caught Loblaw Faking It

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada has officially wrapped up a major investigation into Loblaw, and the findings are a bit of a wake-up call for anyone who thinks deleting an app means their data is gone.

The probe found that Loblaw took an “unreasonable amount of time” to actually close PC Optimum accounts and, even more frustratingly, kept holding onto customer purchase histories long after they left the program.

Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne pointed out that while Loblaw has a system for deleting accounts, they were slow to act on requests and ignored some privacy questions entirely. Even when the company removed obvious details like your name or email, the investigation found they didn’t go far enough. Essentially, your anonymized shopping data could still be linked back to you, which defeats the purpose of hitting delete in the first place.

As part of the settlement, Loblaw is bringing in a third party to review how they handle data anonymization and has promised to start purging inactive accounts more regularly.

While the Privacy Commissioner found the grocer’s actions to be a clear violation of federal privacy law, there is actually no financial penalty or fine being issued, in case you were wondering.

That’s because under Canada’s current privacy laws framework, the Commissioner lacks the authority to slap fines for these types of findings, meaning Loblaw effectively escapes with a formal reprimand and a “conditional resolution” that requires them to prove they’ve fixed their systems within the next year.

The news comes after the Competition Bureau today gave the green light for EQ Bank to take over PC Financial for $800 million. This deal makes EQ Bank the exclusive financial partner for PC Optimum, while Loblaw holds onto a 16% stake in the bank.