SEC indicates it favors "broader" corporate disclosures on Twitter

Ian Lamont — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:22:33 -0400

Securities and Exchange Commission staff are "actively looking" at the question of whether corporate Twitter users may be required to give additional SEC disclosures, according to SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro.

Twitter has been a hit in the financial arena. Several popular services such as StockTwits have sprung up to track discussions around publicly traded securities and foreign currency exchanges. However, the SEC may be less concerned with these and more concerned with information tweeted by executives and employees that potentially conflicts with SEC regulations on corporate communications. For example, eBay's lawyers have required in-house blogger and tweeter Richard Brewer-Hay to include regulatory disclaimers with some of his posts.

Speaking today at the annual conference of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers in Denver, Schapiro said, "It is safe to assume that we favor greater and broader disclosure. But we haven't come to a resolution on each technology that exists."

Image: Securities and Exchange Commission website

The Industry Standard - SEC indicates it favors "broader" corporate disclosures on Twitter - Comments

SEC indicates it favors "broader" corporate disclosures on Twitter