Defunct startups are pawning off their former employees conversations for up to $100,000, according to a new report.
I hate this timeline.
For example, SimpleClosure this week introduced a new product called Asset Hub, aimed at helping startups monetize their data. The platform allows companies to license things like source code as well as workplace data, including documents, workflows, and internal communications such as Slack messages and emails.
Forbes reports that over the past year, SimpleClosure has processed nearly 100 of these deals, with payouts ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 per company. “There’s a feeling of a gold rush from these companies trying to get their hands on real-world data,” SimpleClosure CEO Dori Yona told Forbes. Still, some privacy advocates are raising concerns about what this means for workers whose data may be included in those datasets. “I think the privacy issues here are quite substantial,” Center for AI and Digital Policy Founder Marc Rotenberg told the outlet. “Employee privacy remains a key concern, particularly because people have become so dependent on these new internal messaging tools like Slack…It’s not generic data. It’s identifiable people.”
