FTX Customer Names: Media Firms Ask Court to Release Details

• Four traditional media companies — Bloomberg, Dow Jones, The New York Times, and Financial Times — have filed objections against redacting information of non-U.S. customers of the bankrupt exchange FTX’s.
• The media firms argued that there was no legal basis to redact the FTX’s customer names pursuant to foreign laws.
• They further argued that FTX failed to demonstrate how releasing its customer information would subject them to scams, identity theft, personal attack, and online victimization.

Media Companies File Objections Against FTX

Four traditional media companies — Bloomberg, Dow Jones, The New York Times and Financial Times — have recently filed objections against efforts by bankrupt crypto exchange FTX to redact the names of its non-US customers from court documents.

No Legal Basis To Redact Customer Names

The media firms argued that there was no legal basis for such a move as per foreign laws. Furthermore, they claimed that FTX failed to provide evidence showing how releasing such information could possibly lead to any kind of harm or disadvantage for their customers.

Crypto Owners Are At Risk

In their filing with the court, the news outlets wrote that crypto owners are just like anyone else who can be targeted by scammers and fraudsters alike. They also noted that if being targeted by phishing emails and other fraud vectors was enough justification for sealing individuals’ names then virtually every individual party involved in a bankruptcy proceeding could litigate anonymously.

Information Is Important For Public Interest

The media houses further asserted that public access to bankruptcy filings was important in order for citizens and stakeholders alike to gain insight into what is going on with the case at hand which is why they opposed FTX’s attempt at redacting customer names from court documents.

Court Outcome Remains Unclear

It remains unclear how the court will respond to this argument as several parties have already filed objections against this request by FTX including several creditors who believe it is important for them to know exactly who owes them money before they make decisions about whether or not they should accept a settlement agreement proposed by the bankrupt exchange or not.