Media giants appeal to overturn court decision to keep FTX user names redacted

collective of media houses It has been submitted We filed an appeal on June 23 to reverse the bankruptcy court’s decision to permanently redact the names of FTX users. Publishing giants include Dow Jones & Company, Bloomberg, The New York Times and the Financial Times.

Ongoing issue

FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022. Since then, FTX lawyers and users have insisted on keeping FTX’s list of nearly nine million creditors confidential. Creditors claim that disclosing the names of FTX customers exposes them to fraud and identity theft threats.

It is worth noting that in ordinary bankruptcy proceedings, as in the Celsius bankruptcy case, the list of creditors is made available to the public. So in December 2022, four major media companies filed a petition to unseal their names.

But in January, Bankruptcy Court Judge John Dorsey sided with FTX’s lawyers and ruled that client names should be kept secret for three months.

In May 2023, the media companies appealed the editorial decision again. They argued that the public has a “presumptive right” to inspect FTX’s bankruptcy filing. Like other companies, both companies noted that FTX creditors could fall prey to scams and scams. However, this is not a sufficient reason to keep names hidden, as “virtually every individual party in a bankruptcy proceeding can file a lawsuit anonymously.”

Despite media opposition, Judge Dorsey again ruled in favor of FTX on June 9. A judge, prioritizing the safety of creditors, ordered FTX to “permanently redact” the customer’s name. The judge also requested that the names of companies and institutional investors be temporarily withheld.

His ruling followed a bankruptcy law exception that allowed for the risk of injury from disclosure.

3rd attempt

A recent application is for the media outlet to release the names of FTX creditors for the third time. Lawyers representing both companies argue that FTX does not have the right to apply a “novel and sweeping exception” to disclosure requirements simply because a customer has used cryptocurrency.

The media giant’s appeal to overturn a court decision to keep FTX usernames redacted was first published on CryptoSlate.