As the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case of defunct cryptocurrency trading platform FTX goes on, court documents reveal that the Financial Times (FT), New York Times (NYT), Bloomberg, and Dow Jones & Company are pushing for the unsealing of information related to the platform’s creditors.
Media Interveners Urge Court to Make Creditor Information Public
Four major media outlets have interjected in the bankruptcy case, referring to themselves as “media interveners.” According to their presentation to the court, they “oppose the continued sealing and redaction of information that has historically been essentially public in nature.” The media outlets in question are the Financial Times (FT), New York Times (NYT), Bloomberg, and Dow Jones & Company.
The media outlets argue that a rule in bankruptcy proceedings allows “any interested entity” to intervene in bankruptcy matters “with respect to any specific matter.” They also point out that courts have “routinely recognized the right of the media to intervene or challenge sealing orders,” noting that “the media acts as the eyes and ears of the public.”
The media serves as a key factor in informing the public about the latest issues. Sealing court records can cause major social disruption.
The debtor has requested that the list of creditors remain confidential for fear that disclosing the names of debtors may result in personal injury or identity theft. However, the media interveners are adamant that redacting the names of creditors is inappropriate, arguing that it “does not pose any undue threat of injury.”
It may be necessary to remove contact information from certain situations in order to avoid identity theft and harassment. But disclosing the names of creditors is not a risk to personal injury or identity theft.
The media interveners also cite a bankruptcy case involving Celsius Media in which the bankruptcy court published 14,000 pages of customer usernames and business history. This doxxing incident caused considerable public outcry, with one Twitter user noting that this was “one of the most egregious privacy violations in the history of cryptography.”
From Dorian Nakamoto to Libs of TikTok, Media Doxxing Becomes Industry Tool
In mid-February, Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz came under fire for intentionally misleading the creator of a popular TikTok account, Libs. The New York Times noted years ago that doxxing was becoming a popular tool in the culture wars, noting that “identifying extremist activists and revealing their personal information has become an Internet sport.”
Establishment media have also been accused of using doxxing for publicity, clicks, and notoriety. When a Newsweek columnist published a report in March 2014 about Dorian Nakamoto, the individual accused the reporter of misleading him and providing his California address. It was later discovered that Dorian was not
