To follow on my post about the NIRI conference I attended earlier this month, I wanted to provide some additional thoughts from John White of the SEC. White addressed the evolving regulatory landscape with a particular focus on interactive data and using corporate web sites to disseminate investor information.
White's discussion of hyperlinking and the SEC's initial thoughts on it stuck with me. As we incorporate more and more linking and tagging into the information that we distribute on behalf of clients, I'm not sure there's been a lot of thought to what the hyperlinking might imply. From the SEC's perspective, a company could potentially be accountable for the third party information it links to in an investor communication. White did clarify that this is not an issue with embedding links in product information, but in documents, data and information specifically targeted at investors.
The SEC has not issued any specific guidance on this yet, but White assured us it is coming. In the meantime, the suggestion is to either use exit notices that make it clear you are moving from one web site to another, or to add some contextual language about why the link to a third party is included.
Given the world of PR is laser focused on embracing social media and the practice of hyperlinking is now just table stakes in this new world, I thought the broader implications of this view from the SEC could be significant. Does this mean it won't make sense to do a social media formatted release for financial news or for other corporate transactions? Please share your thoughts.
One final comment from White that stuck with me was that the SEC is reconsidering what it means to meet full disclosure requirements as it relates to information posted on a company's web site. Today just posting to a corporate web site does not meet these requirements, but one day it could. Per White, guidance on this is also to come.
