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RadioShack Agreement With US States Over Selling Customer Data

Customers can opt out, if they know about it.

Privacy

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has weighed in on the contentious issue of the proposed sale of consumer data by bankrupt retailer RadioShack, recommending that a model be adopted based on a settlement the agency reached with a failed online toy retailer. A Delaware bankruptcy judge said Tuesday that he’s willing to approve bid procedures for the sale of RadioShack’s intellectual property, including data on millions of customers. But he warned there’s no guarantee he will approve the sale itself.
RadioShack has said that credit card numbers, debit card numbers, and transaction data that are not typically found on a standard sales receipt will not be sold. Up for sale are a “contact database,” consisting of about 8.5 million opt-in email addresses, of which approximately 3.1 million were active within the last 12 months, and a “customer database,” consisting of about 67 million customer names and physical mailing address files, of which approximately 11.9 million made a purchase in the last 12 months.

… “I do believe that additional disclosure is necessary with respect to the phrase ‘transaction data,'” Shannon said, suggesting that RadioShack could add a few sentences in its summary description to include “the sorts of things that I think the typical person might find interesting.

Meanwhile, attorneys for Verizon Wireless and AT&T argued that RadioShack is prohibited from selling subscriber information or other data on their customers who purchased cell phones or wireless plans at RadioShack stores.

Are you willing to sell your data? Will you opt out? Let us know in the comment below.

Author: Shivniel Gounder

TheGeek : Writes about information security, privacy, cybersecurity and latest tech gadgets and more.

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