• From ClassAction.org:
"A proposed class action alleges Rite Aid discloses website visitors’ personal and health information to Meta (formerly Facebook) and other third parties without their knowledge or consent.
"The 78-page lawsuit out of California claims that when customers visit RiteAid.com to fill a prescription, invisible tracking tools embedded into the website secretly transmit information about their medical history, mental and physical condition, and treatment to Meta, Google, TikTok and other companies. According to the filing, this data is used by Rite Aid and the third parties it partners with to improve their targeted advertising capabilities.
"The pharmacy chain’s alleged data-sharing practices run contrary to its privacy policies, which explicitly state that the company must obtain written authorization from customers before using or disclosing their health information for marketing purposes, the case says."
The story goes on: "This massive breach of confidentiality and privacy has, on information and belief, affected millions of Rite Aid’s customers in the state of California as well as millions more nationwide,” and claims that "the mishandling of such sensitive information has the potential to give rise to serious consequences, including 'embarrassment, discrimination in the workplace and denial of insurance coverage'."
• From the Sacramento Business Journal:
"West Sacramento-based Raley's is planning to convert several of its supermarkets' cafes into Starbucks kiosks, following a partnership between the two companies.
Two Sacramento area locations will be the first to see the switch, as well as the chain's store in Lake Tahoe's Incline Village."
Chelsea Minor, vice president of community impact and public affairs for Raley's, said in a prepared statement that "for Raley's, this is all about expanding our offerings and our customers want Starbucks. We have plans to convert several store cafes to Starbucks over the next few years. The first phase is in progress and includes two local stores and one in Nevada."
• The Washington Post reports that comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish "is raising $25 million to build a healthful food market as part of an educational and commercial complex on a dusty swath of scrubland in Los Angeles’s Crenshaw neighborhood."
Haddish, who is in Disney's $160 million The Haunted Mansion movie that opens this weekend, tells the Post, "I’ve always dreamed of being in a Disney movie, and this is the biggest movie I’ve ever been in. But it’s not as important as the grocery store. I don’t know if movies change people’s lives … There will be specialty things and a normal market and a nonprofit-like educational component, where people can take cooking classes and a financial literacy class. I’m a firm believer that once you understand how money works, once you understand how food works, you become a healthier, happier human being. And when you’re healthier and happier, the family’s healthier and happier, and the community’s healthier and happier.”
