Agreement Limits Sale of RadioShack Customer Data in Pennsylvania

The amount of customer data that RadioShack can sell to the technology firm buying out the bankrupt company has been limited following an agreement reached with a coalition of 38 states including Pennsylvania.

According to a statement from the Attorney General’s Office, the majority of RadioShack consumer data will be destroyed. The new owner of RadioShack, General Wireless Operations, Inc., will not gain access to any sensitive personally identifiable information. This would include credit and debit card information, social security numbers, telephone numbers and dates of birth.

General Wireless obtained bankruptcy court approval to purchase RadioShack’s entire e-commerce business, intellectual property and remaining assets, including certain customer data limited by this settlement. In March, General Wireless, a subsidiary of RadioShack’s largest shareholder, purchased 1,750 RadioShack stores out of the bankruptcy.

Out of the 8.5 million customer email addresses in RadioShack’s files, the new owner will be allowed to retain only a limited number of email addresses, specifically the email addresses of those who specifically requested product information within the last two years.

Customers whose email address is sold to General Wireless will also be contacted by the company and given the opportunity to opt out of future communications. General Wireless further agreed it will not sell or share any of this customer information in the future with any other entity, including its new co-branded business partner Sprint Communications.

In the settlement, General Wireless and Sprint have also agreed to lease 87 of the existing RadioShack locations in Pennsylvania, providing an opportunity to retain jobs.