Evan Schuman's StorefrontBacktalk

Macy's is "playing a dangerous game of hide the ball" in relying on its privacy-protection policy to fight a subpoena seeking the names of customers that bought children's jewelry containing possibly toxic levels of lead, according to a new court filing from the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office. In a rebuttal to court documents filed by Macy's, in which the company is fighting a state request for CRM and POS data identifying people who bought the items, Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Daniel Wright wrote that "Macy's is attempting to conceal from customers the fact that it sold them lead-contaminated jewelry for their children."

Given that prior judges have ruled that a benefit to consumers is helpful in establishing the need for a subpoena to overcome retail privacy policies, Wright told Superior Court Judge Fred Rotenberg that "it is hard to imagine more of a benefit than allowing Macy's customers to take a toxic substance away from their children. (Macy's) is playing a dangerous game of hide the ball and the only one who loses are the children it puts at risk." The case is important because it raises many critical retail IT issues, including how private--or proprietary--the courts should consider data, including purchase histories from CRM/loyalty and POS payment files.

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