Customer information is now a core asset in consumer-facing Chapter 11s. However, the legal framework governing consumer data was built for a different category of intangible property and consequently provides little of the closure putative buyers of distressed companies seek.
That structural mismatch is no longer a niche issue. 23andMe’s Chapter 11 case places personally identifiable information at the center of the reorganization process. The genetic testing company’s value resides almost entirely in intangible data: DNA files, processed genetic interpretations, health-related inferences, and accounts tied to individual customers.
To determine how best to treat (profoundly) personal information when that information ...