Facebook, Twitter Accounts Property Of Bankruptcy Estate, Court Finds

The former majority owner of Texas gun store and shooting rangemust hand over the username and password for social media accounts as part of the estate’s “legal or equitable interests,” the Southern District of Texas Bankruptcy Court found recently. The question of whether social media accounts are the property of a bankruptcy estate had not previously been decided by a Texas court, and only one other court – applying New York law – had chosen to treat social media accounts as property. The court noted that accounts are a valuable asset because they provide access to customers and potential customers. “As the use of social media has become increasingly essential for businesses to compete effectively, social media accounts have become significantly valuable intangible assets of businesses,” attorneys for Duane Morris write in a client alert.