WASHINGTON (CN) - The SEC encourages registered companies to disclose information over the Internet, but is not keen on practices such as hiding negative information on obscure links, according to new guidelines.
The Securities and Exchange Commission also warns that links to other sites that do not disclose the companies' control over them can lead to trouble with securities rules.
To satisfy full disclosure requirements, a company Web site must be able to handle all of its information, including new disclosures, and allow simultaneous access by investors. Blogs will be held to the same standards of disclosure as other forms of media released by a company. Company officials and those acting on their behalf will not be able to claim that their comments on blogs and forums are personal opinion and not representative of the company, and company Web sites will not be able to require those who want to participate to waive their legal rights under securities laws to do so.
Click the link on the front page for details and other new regulations.
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