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Four media outlets in the United States are continuing their efforts to disclose the identity of FTX customers outside of the US, filing new objections to a previous motion to have their identity closed.
Bloomberg, Dow Jones, The New York Times and The Financial Times first filed a motion objecting to FTX and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors being authorized to edit and withhold customer information on Jan. 11.
While the court had previously heard similar arguments from the four firms, the May 3 lawsuit raised a new objection to the Committee’s request to withhold the identity of non-US customers.
The most recent media argument is that there is no legal basis for name editing under data privacy laws outside of the US.
The media giants have argued that section 105 of the Bankruptcy Code — a provision that gives the bankruptcy court judicial power — lacks a portion that allows foreign law to take precedence over the right of access to information under U.S. constitutional and statutory law:
“Essentially, Movants’ desire to avoid” the application of public disclosure requirements under US bankruptcy law […] does not provide grounds for sealing.”
“United States law — constitutional and statutory — guarantees the public a strong presumptive right to examine bankruptcy records. This right cannot be waived by a party’s declaration of legal obligations under foreign law,” the media companies added.
The first argument put forward, which was stated in the earlier application, was that the names of FTX creditors do not constitute “confidential commercial information.”
The second, also mentioned in the earlier documentation, is that such disclosure does not expose lenders to “undue risk”.
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FTX and the Committee have until May 4, 4:00 pm ET to file an objection.
The application hearing date will be May 17 at 13:00 ET.