Is tweeting considered Fair Disclosure? Have social rules changed the rules?
Is tweeting considered Fair Disclosure? Have social rules changed the rules? The SEC says yes, but the landscape is new and the dust is still settling. Be careful.

A Brave New World

In April 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) cleared public companies to use social media outlets such as Twitter® and Facebook® to announce key information in compliance with Regulation Fair Disclosure (Regulation FD), “so long as investors have been alerted about which social media will be used to disseminate such information.”
“An increasing number of public companies are using social media to communicate with their shareholders and the investing public,” the SEC noted. “We appreciate the value and prevalence of social media channels in contemporary market communications, and the commission supports companies seeking new ways to communicate.”
In effect, the SEC recognized that it, too, cannot ignore the growth and power of social media, and it responded by laying out some ground rules.
However, the SEC’s guidance was general, leaving room for error. Some executives may be rightfully worried about those in their organizations with “itchy Twitter fingers,” while balancing a desire to communicate with shareholders and potential investors who are eager for information.