The Liquidation of Data Privacy: How an Outdated Bankruptcy Code Threatens Consumer Information
Michael R. Akselrad In the modern world, billions of people share personal information online every day, ranging from consumer preferences to biometric and genetic identifiers, leading to the commoditization of user data, the value of which may dwarf the other assets of even large, multinational corporations. In the ordinary course of business, this user data may be kept confidential through such measures as privacy policies, statutory protections, and the reputational backlash facing a company that acts too brazenly with users’ sensitive information. In bankruptcy, however, some of these safeguards are eliminated in the interest of maximizing the value of the...