• Home
  • News
  • Fortune 500
  • Tech
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
RetailRadioShack

RadioShack’s bankruptcy auction may include your personal data

By
Benjamin Snyder
Benjamin Snyder
Managing Editor
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Benjamin Snyder
Benjamin Snyder
Managing Editor
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 24, 2015, 12:35 PM ET
Photograph by David Paul Morris — Bloomberg via Getty Images

If you shopped at RadioShack before the company started closing its stores en masse earlier this year, your personal data could be up for bid in the company’s bankruptcy auctions.

More than 13 million e-mail addresses and 65 million customers’ names and addresses are included in the RadioShack auctions that began this week, Bloomberg reports. The data trove could also include information about shoppers’ buying behavior.

However, two separate legal challenges could prevent RadioShack from auctioning off customers’ data. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argues RadioShack agreed not to sell customers’ data, while AT&T says some of the company’s data about shopping habits actually belongs to the telecom company, Bloomberg notes.

Whether or not RadioShack survives the bankruptcy process depends largely on whether a federal bankruptcy court approves what’s said to be a successful bid for the company’s assets by hedge fund Standard General. RadioShack said when it entered bankruptcy last month it planned for Standard General to take over up to half the company’s retail locations and turn them into stores for Sprint cellphones. The court’s decision on approving or rejecting Standard’s bid is expected later this week.

RadioShack’s sales dipped 16% in its last quarter with losses spanning 11 consecutive quarters. The company said in its Chapter 11 filing that it had $1.2 billion in assets along with $1.39 billion in debt.

Watch more business news from Fortune:

About the Author
By Benjamin SnyderManaging Editor
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Benjamin Snyder is Fortune's managing editor, leading operations for the newsroom.

Prior to rejoining Fortune, he was a managing editor at Business Insider and has worked as an editor for Bloomberg, LinkedIn and CNBC, covering leadership stories, sports business, careers and business news. He started his career as a breaking news reporter at Fortune in 2014.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Retail

Tony Cuccio posing in a chair
C-SuiteMillionaires
Tony Cuccio started with $200 selling beauty products on Venice Beach. Then he brought gel nails to the masses—and forged a $2 billion empire
By Dave SmithDecember 3, 2025
59 minutes ago
CybersecuritySmall Business
Main Street’s make-or-break upgrade: Why small businesses are racing to modernize their tech
By Ashley LutzDecember 3, 2025
3 hours ago
Costco
BankingTariffs and trade
Costco sues Trump, demanding refunds on tariffs already paid
By Paul Wiseman and The Associated PressDecember 2, 2025
22 hours ago
cyber monday
RetailCyber Monday
Cyber Monday to set record with up to $14.2 billion of online spending, the biggest shopping day of the year and ever
By Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Anne D'Innocenzio and The Associated PressDecember 2, 2025
1 day ago
Bernie, Zohran
LawLabor
Zohran Mamdani, Bernie Sanders visit striking Starbucks baristas on picket line as union demands contract after nearly 4 years
By Jennifer Peltz and The Associated PressDecember 2, 2025
1 day ago
RetailTariffs and trade
Costco joins companies suing for refunds if Trump’s tariffs fall
By Zoe Tillman, Jaewon Kang and BloombergDecember 1, 2025
2 days ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
North America
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos commit $102.5 million to organizations combating homelessness across the U.S.: ‘This is just the beginning’
By Sydney LakeDecember 2, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Ford workers told their CEO 'none of the young people want to work here.' So Jim Farley took a page out of the founder's playbook
By Sasha RogelbergNovember 28, 2025
5 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Warren Buffett used to give his family $10,000 each at Christmas—but when he saw how fast they were spending it, he started buying them shares instead
By Eleanor PringleDecember 2, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Elon Musk says he warned Trump against tariffs, which U.S. manufacturers blame for a turn to more offshoring and diminishing American factory jobs
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 2, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
North America
Anonymous $50 million donation helps cover the next 50 years of tuition for medical lab science students at University of Washington
By The Associated PressDecember 2, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
C-Suite
MacKenzie Scott's $19 billion donations have turned philanthropy on its head—why her style of giving actually works
By Sydney LakeDecember 2, 2025
1 day ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.