Your Old Slack Messages Were Just Sold
FrequencyMay 11, 202600:06:10

Your Old Slack Messages Were Just Sold

SimpleClosure helps shuttered startups wind down — and one of the things they sell is the company's internal data. Asset Hub has processed about 100 deals, with payouts ranging from tens of thousands to six figures. One former founder sold a decade of internal records for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The employees whose messages were in those archives weren't asked.

The legal question of whether a company owns its employees' internal communications and can sell them is largely untested. Anonymization may not be enough, especially for messages touching health issues, personal conflicts, or sensitive decisions. Chuck and Jenni land on the bigger point: any organization running Slack or Teams right now is sitting on a data asset its employees have never thought of as one. If that company gets acquired, merges, or closes — who owns it?

https://www.fastcompany.com/91528808/shuttered-startups-are-selling-old-slack-chats-and-emails-to-ai-companies