{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,29]],"date-time":"2026-04-29T04:44:35Z","timestamp":1777437875545,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2004,4,1]],"date-time":"2004-04-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1080777600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/site-policies"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2004,4,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>From a consumer perspective, the issue of personal, informational privacy is of growing concern as our society becomes more and more digitized. For businesses however, detailed customer information is a valuable and lucrative commodity. The latter is particularly true for online businesses with few tangible assets. In order to allay consumer privacy fears, some online businesses post privacy policies promising not to divulge customer information. Yet, when an online business files for bankruptcy, creditors will demand that the customer database be sold with other assets. This article examines the legal and privacy issues surrounding customer databases that arise when an online business files for bankruptcy<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1108\/02635570410525762","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2004,4,6]],"date-time":"2004-04-06T19:43:58Z","timestamp":1081280638000},"page":"209-217","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":18,"title":["Legal and privacy issues surrounding customer databases and e\u2010merchant bankruptcies: reflections on Toysmart.com"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"104","author":[{"given":"Eileen P.","family":"Kelly","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"G. Scott","family":"Erickson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"140","reference":[{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B1","unstructured":"Administrative Office of the US Courts (2003), \u201cJudicial facts and figures 2003\u201d, available at: www.uscourts.gov"},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B2","unstructured":"American Bankruptcy Institute (2001), \u201cBankruptcy filings surpass record\u2010breaking mark\u201d, 4 December, available at: www.abiworld.org"},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B3","unstructured":"Business Week\/Harris Poll (2000), \u201cA growing threat\u201d, Business Week, 20 March, p. 96."},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B4","unstructured":"Dreazen, Y. (2003), \u201cConsumers are in the dark on Web site privacy\u201d, Wall Street Journal, 23 June, p. D2."},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B5","unstructured":"Electronic Privacy Information Center (2002), \u201cEPIC bill track: tracking privacy, speech, and other cyber\u2010liberties bills in the 107th Congress\u201d, available at: www.epic.org\/privacy\/bill_track.html"},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B6","unstructured":"European Parliament (1995), European Parliament\u2019s Directive, available at: http:\/\/europa.eu.int"},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B7","unstructured":"Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (2000a), \u201cFTC v. Toysmart.com\u201d, LLC, Civ. Action No 00\u201011341\u2010RGS, Complaint for Permanent Injunction and Other equitable Relief, (D. Mass. filed 11 July), available at: www.ftc.gov"},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B8","unstructured":"Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (2000b), \u201cFTC v. Toysmart.com\u201d, LLC, Civ. Action No. 00\u201011341\u2010RGS, First Amended Complaint for Permanent Injunction and Other equitable Relief, (D. Mass. filed 20 July), available at: www.ftc.gov"},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B9","unstructured":"Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (2000c), \u201cFTC announces settlement with bankrupt Web site, Toysmart.com, regarding alleged privacy policy violations\u201d, Press Release, 21 July, available at: www.ftc.gov"},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B10","unstructured":"Federal Trade Commission (2000d), \u201cFTC v. Toysmart.com\u201d, LLC, D. Mass., No. 00\u201011341\u2010RGS, Stipulated Consent Agreement and Final Order, (D. Mass. filed 20 July), available at: www.ftc.gov"},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B11","unstructured":"(The) Filter (2001), \u201cWalt Disney ending not necessarily a good one\u201d, The Filter, 17 January, available at: http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu"},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B12","unstructured":"Gertner, R. (2002), \u201cBankruptcy reform expected to fail again\u201d, Lawyers Weekly, 14 October, p. 1."},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B13","unstructured":"Gilbert, A. (2001), \u201cEgghead.com bounces back under Amazon\u201d, CNET News.com, 18 December, available at: www.news.com"},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B14","unstructured":"Gottesman, L. (2001), \u201cMeasuring value in a dot\u2010com world is a dicey job\u201d, National Law Journal, 12 February, p. B10."},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gottschalk, P. and Abrahamsen, A. (2002), \u201cPlans to utilize electronic marketplaces: the case of B2B procurement markets in Norway\u201d, Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 102 No. 6, pp. 325\u201031.","DOI":"10.1108\/02635570210432028"},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kelly, E. (2000), \u201cEthical aspects of managing customer privacy in electronic commerce\u201d, Human Systems Management, Vol. 19, pp. 237\u201044.","DOI":"10.3233\/HSM-2000-19403"},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B17","unstructured":"Krebs, B. (2000), \u201cStates\u2019 bankruptcy court rejects Toysmart settlement\u201d, Newsbytes, 17 August, available at: www.infowar.com"},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B18","unstructured":"Miller, R., Jentz, G. and Cross. F. (1999), West\u2019s Business Law, West Educational Publishing, New York, NY."},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B19","unstructured":"Miller, W. and O\u2019Rourke, M. (2001), \u201cBankruptcy law v. privacy rights: which holds the trump\u2010card?\u201d, Houston Law Review, Vol. 38, pp. 777\u2010854."},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B20","unstructured":"Morehead, N. (2000), \u201cToysmart bankruptcy litmus test\u201d, Wired News, 12 July, available at: www.wired.com"},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Nemati, H. and Barko, C. (2003), \u201cKey factors for achieving organizational data\u2010mining success\u201d, Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 103 No. 4, pp. 282\u201092.","DOI":"10.1108\/02635570310470692"},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B22","unstructured":"Petersen, A. (2000), \u201cDoubleClick reverses course after privacy outcry\u201d, Wall Street Journal, 3 March, pp. B1, B6."},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B23","unstructured":"Richtel, M. (2000), \u201cToysmart.com in settlement with FTC\u201d, New York Times, 22 July, pp. C1, C14."},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B24","unstructured":"Rosen, J. (2000), The Unwanted Gaze, Random House, New York, NY."},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rotondaro, R. (2002), \u201cDefining the customer\u2019s expectations in e\u2010business\u201d, Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 102 No. 9, pp. 476\u201082.","DOI":"10.1108\/02635570210450154"},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B26","unstructured":"Schlosser, R., Florian, E. and Sung, J. (2001), \u201cDead and (mostly) gone\u201d, Business 2.0, available at: www.business2.com"},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B27","unstructured":"Schwartz, R. and Chapman, S. (2001), \u201cDoes one size fit all?\u201d, National Law Journal, 13 February, pp. B9, B13."},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B28","unstructured":"Slind\u2010Flor, V. (2000), \u201cPrivacy or creditors? Who holds the trump?\u201d, National Law Journal, 4 September, pp. A1, A9."},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"So, M. and Sculli, D. (2002), \u201cThe role of trust, quality, value and risk in conducting e\u2010business\u201d, Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 102 No. 9, pp. 503\u201012.","DOI":"10.1108\/02635570210450181"},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B30","unstructured":"United States Department of Commerce News (2003), \u201cService sector statistics\u201d, press release, 23 May, available at: www.census.gov"},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wang, S. (2001), \u201cDesigning information systems for electronic commerce\u201d, Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 101 No. 6, pp. 304\u201015.","DOI":"10.1108\/EUM0000000005580"},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B32","unstructured":"Weber, T. (2001), \u201cIntangibles are tough to value, but the pay\u2010off matters in dot\u2010com era\u201d, Wall Street Journal, 14 May, p. B1."},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B33","unstructured":"Wingfield, N. (2000), \u201cNew breed of vulture gets fat on remains of expired e\u2010tailers\u201d, Wall Street Journal, 11 November, pp. A1, A8."},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B34","unstructured":"Winn, J. and Wrathall, J. (2000), \u201cBankruptcy law: Internet customer databases\u201d, National Law Journal, 18 September, p. B8."},{"key":"key2022031620332334900_B35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Xu, Y., Yen, D., Lin, B. and Chou, D. (2002), \u201cAdopting customer relationship management technology\u201d, Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 102 No. 8, pp. 442\u201052.","DOI":"10.1108\/02635570210445871"}],"container-title":["Industrial Management &amp; Data Systems"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"http:\/\/www.emeraldinsight.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1108\/02635570410525762","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/content\/doi\/10.1108\/02635570410525762\/full\/xml","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/content\/doi\/10.1108\/02635570410525762\/full\/html","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,24]],"date-time":"2025-07-24T23:37:20Z","timestamp":1753400240000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"http:\/\/www.emerald.com\/imds\/article\/104\/3\/209-217\/180271"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2004,4,1]]},"references-count":35,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2004,4,1]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1108\/02635570410525762"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/02635570410525762","relation":{},"ISSN":["0263-5577"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0263-5577","type":"print"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2004,4,1]]}}}