{"rewrite":{"id":"r_46923a27a7f514a72faabbe4","clusterId":"c_040902831c7cfc8293bfd61d","slug":"defunct-startup-data-sold-for-ai-training-as-lawyers-warn-of-a-lawless-zone","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Defunct Startup Data Sold For AI Training As Lawyers Warn Of A Lawless Zone","summary":"Code, emails, and Slack histories from startups winding down are being sold as AI training data, according to a report summarized by ASCII.jp. One brokerage has handled over 150 deals. In August, Google purchased data from Spirit Airlines, which is in bankruptcy proceedings, for $10 million. Lawyers say the data carries individuals' private information and call it a lawless zone for AI training.","whyItMatters":"If shuttered companies can sell their internal communications as training material, the privacy rules that apply to living businesses and their employees turn out to have no counterpart once the business is gone.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe deals are brokered by firms that specialize in liquidating a failed company\u0026#39;s digital assets rather than its desks and servers. One such brokerage has closed over 150 transactions. The buyers are AI developers looking for text that did not come off the open web: internal code, staff email threads, and years of Slack messages written under the assumption that only colleagues would read them.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpirit Airlines, which is in bankruptcy proceedings, sold data to Google in August for $10 million. Lawyers quoted in the report say the material carries personal information about employees and customers, and that no clear rule governs how it can be used once it changes hands.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Google paid $10 million for Spirit Airlines data while the airline is in bankruptcy. Startup wind-downs now have a buyer, and the assets on sale are employees' old emails and Slack logs.","twitterPost":"Google bought Spirit Airlines data for $10 million during the airline's bankruptcy. Employees' old emails and Slack logs are the inventory.","threadsPost":"Google paid $10 million for Spirit Airlines data while the airline sits in bankruptcy. The brokerage moving defunct startups' code, emails, and Slack logs has closed over 150 deals, which means the people in those logs never agreed to train anything.","newsletterBlurb":"Data from defunct and bankrupt companies is being sold to AI developers, and a brokerage handling the transactions has closed more than 150 deals. In August, Google bought data from Spirit Airlines, which is in bankruptcy proceedings, for $10 million. Lawyers say the material contains private information and that no clear rule covers its use.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"ASCII.jp\",\"url\":\"https://ascii.jp/elem/000/004/442/4442675/?rss\",\"title\":\"Emails and Slack of Defunct Companies Are Being Used to Train AI, and the 'Funeral Director' Business Is Booming\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4663,"outputTokens":563,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1792020125,"createdAt":"2026-10-14T23:16:27.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-14T23:21:05.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-14T23:21:05.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_040902831c7cfc8293bfd61d","canonicalTitle":"廃業企業のメールやSlackがAI訓練に、「葬儀屋」ビジネスが活況","representativeArticleId":"a_f5c0110f62c3b339e478aa18","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"business\",\"domain\":\"industry\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-10-14T21:33:56.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-10-14T21:33:56.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-14T23:21:06.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"ASCII.jp","url":"https://ascii.jp/elem/000/004/442/4442675/?rss","title":"廃業企業のメールやSlackがAI訓練に、「葬儀屋」ビジネスが活況"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":[],"studios":[],"people":[],"type":"business","domain":"industry","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}