Loyalty Programs In The California AG's Crosshairs Once Again

With a nod to Data Privacy Day (January 28), California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced an enforcement sweep of loyalty programs operated by retail, home improvement, travel, and food service companies. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) defines a "financial incentive" as "a program, benefit, or other offering, including payments to consumers, related to the collection, retention, or sale of personal information," Regs. § 999.301(j) (emphasis added), and has transparency, choice, and fairness requirements for such a program to be offered to Californians. The Office of the Attorney General of California (OAG) has taken a very broad approach to applying the CCPA's financial incentive rules to loyalty programs, essentially treating a program as a financial incentive if it collects any personal information as part of its operation.