Consumer Privacy At Risk In Borders Bankruptcy

As Barnes& Noble prepares to take over the remaining Borders stores and ownership rights through a purchase at a bankruptcy auction, former Borders customers are worried about what will happen to their personal information. Throughout the years, Borders has acquired massive amounts of consumer information in the form of customer contact information, purchase history and preference lists.

Sold To the Highest Bidder

Barnes  & Noble stands to inherit all of that information in a $14 million purchase of Borders intellectual assets. Consumers are speaking out about their concerns their right to privacy will be violated in the deal. Consumer complaints have begun to reach the offices of The Federal Trade commission, who released a statement saying that any transfer of personal information that results from the bankruptcy sale must be accompanied by a consent form of Border’s customers. Further the FTC states that privacy concerns could also be limited if:

• Borders agrees not to sell consumer information as a stand alone asset
• Barnes & Noble agrees to adhere to the privacy policy outlined in the original Borders agreement
• Barnes & Nobles agrees to obtain additional consent form consumers for any changes that would take place under a new policy

The final sale of the assets is set for the end of next week, unless the privacy issue stands in the way.