A number of significant media organizations have appealed a bankruptcy court’s decision to permanently redact the names of FTX users.
The New York Times, Dow Jones & Company, Bloomberg, and the Financial Times argued that keeping the names secret effectively denies the public’s “presumptive right” to view bankruptcy filings in a recent filing with the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
Prior to December 2022, the media companies requested that the names of FTX creditors be made public. However, Bankruptcy Court Judge John Dorsey decided to keep the customer names confidential for an additional three months.
Judge Dorsey ruled with FTX once more, putting the security of creditors first and directing FTX to “permanently redact” the names of its clients when the media businesses once more objected to the redaction decision in May 2023.With lawyers for the firms contending that FTX is not entitled to a waiver from the disclosure obligations just because its clients utilized cryptocurrencies, the media outlets are now making a third attempt to have the identities of FTX creditors published. In his most recent decision, Judge Dorsey argued that disclosing the identities of specific clients could expose them to fraud and identity theft.
Dorsey made it abundantly apparent that FTX should place a high priority on consumer safety and make sure customers are protected from scams. Customers are the most crucial factor in this situation, he claimed. “We want to make sure they’re safe and aren’t taken advantage of by any scams,”
Also permitted by the court was FTX’s temporary removal of institutional investors’ and companies’ identities from its customer lists. If the exchange wants to keep them redacted, a new request must be made after 90 days.