Borders has long collected personal information from customers and promised that such information would not be disclosed without consent. In light of that and Borders’ current bankruptcy proceedings, the FTC has sent a letter to the consumer privacy ombudsman overseeing the Borders bankruptcy that seeks the protection of customer personal information.
The FTC’s letter appears prompted by its understanding that customer personal information held by Borders is scheduled to be auctioned and thereafter there will be a sale hearing.
The FTC points out that in its business, Borders sold books, DVDs, CDs and other items in stores and online. As part of this process, Borders collected vast quantities of personal information, such as credit card numbers, email addresses and purchase histories, for more than 20 million customers.
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