Privacy concern spurs rant

Retailers are within their rights to ask customers for their contact details, but need to ensure it can’t be seen by others, Retail NZ says.

A Nelson man’s rant at an Animates worker has attracted attention on social media after he filmed his interaction and was denied entry after refusing to provide his contact details, which he said was a breach of his privacy.

In the video posted by Not the Norm on YouTube, which has had more than 69,000 views, a man tells the Animates worker that asking for his details before allowing him entry was a breach of the Privacy Act.

‘‘So you are refusing my ability to purchase something unless I provide my personal details, is that right?’’ he says in the video.

The shop assistant told him Animates was collecting details for contact tracing as per the Government’s requirements.

‘‘We are taking just a name and a number so that we can get in contact with anybody who could come in contact with the virus,’’ the worker told him.

There had been confusion over which safety measures were necessary under Covid-19 alert level 2. Retailers were first told that by law they needed to keep contact tracing records, but that had since changed.

In the video, the man says: ‘‘By refusing to allow me to come in here and buy something and making me give my details, you are in breach of my privacy. Do you understand that?’’

He has been criticised after the video was circulated online.

‘‘As a retailer, they have the right to refuse service to whoever for whatever reason. You’re not the only one with rights,’’ one comment on YouTube read.

Not the Norm, who has 277 subscribers and calls himself a human rights activist, posted a second video on May 20 after the ‘‘overwhelming’’ and ‘‘unexpected’’ response to his first video.

He argued his first video was not pre-meditated. ‘‘Rules are not laws and when you are being asked to follow rules that breach everybody’s rights we need to be questioning them.’’

Retail NZ chief executive Greg Harford said businesses were not required to contact trace their customers if 2-metre physical distancing could be maintained.

‘‘There is nothing to stop other retailers doing so if they think it is important from a health and safety point of view.’’

Animates has been asked for comment.

Harford said it was disappointing that retail workers were being given a hard time about contact tracing requirements.

‘‘It is not a breach of privacy to ask for customer details on entry to a store. However, retailers do need to be clear about the purpose of collecting that information, and make sure that it is kept secure and used only for the purposes it was gathered.’’

He said retail stores were private property and retailers were free to set the conditions of entry.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner had advice for businesses on how to maintain a contact tracing register.

Senior communications adviser Charles Mabbett said the problem with a book registry was that the customer was able to see the previous person’s details.

Recording details on a device such as a laptop was preferable, as it meant only the employee would see the information.

The best paper-based system was one where customers could write their details and time of entry on a slip of paper then place it in a ballot box. The business would then destroy the slips two months from that date.