Consumer backlash erupts after backpack in video from UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting is identified by its manufacturer
CNN
The CEO of a company that makes high-end backpacks said he and his employees have received threats after reports he contacted a police tip line when he spotted one of the company’s bags in the surveillance video of the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The CEO of a company that makes high-end backpacks said he and his employees have received threats after reports he contacted a police tip line when he spotted one of the company’s bags in the surveillance video of the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Peter Dering, the founder and CEO of San Francisco-based company Peak Design, issued a statement Friday after he told the New York Times in a report published on December 5, as soon as he saw photos of the bag, he contacted police. Dering also told the Times if police were to ask for help he would “check with his general counsel about what information he could release without violating the company’s privacy guidelines.” “We take our customer privacy seriously. There is misinformation being shared on social media that has triggered many serious threats for the safety of not only me, but our employees as well,” Dering said in the statement. “I ask that you please consider the facts we are providing here and continue to instill trust in the Peak.” Dering had told the Times in the December 5 story the person at the tip line who answered his call said there were “hundreds” of calls identifying the gray bag worn by alleged gunman Luigi Mangione as a Peak Design item. Still, some have taken to social media to call Dering a “snitch.” One TikTok user suggested Peak Design bag owners remove the serial tags on their bags and others have suggested returning bags. It is standard for a company to share customer information in response to a court order or subpoena, according to Greg Ewing, a data privacy attorney in Washington, DC.
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