Tag Archives: FINRA

Cases of Interest, Cost, Law, Management, Sanctions, Social Media, Technology

Did Netflix CEO Violate Regulation “FB”?

MP900422415If you've already seen the headlines, you know that Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, has received a Wells Notice from the SEC.  They're considering taking action on a violation of Regulation FD due to an alleged 'material' disclosure on Facebook that Hastings posted to his 200,000+ subscribers back in July 2012.

The gist of the issue?  The SEC claims that those subscribers received an unfair advantage because they had access to the information in advance of the general public; and presumably traded based on that information.  Naturally, Hastings' view is contra.

Is it a violation?  I dunno.  We're going to see more of these issues arise as social media continues to wend its way into the corporate mainstream.

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Netflix Gets Wells Notice Over CEO Hastings' Facebook Post
Backup & Recovery Systems, Cost, Disaster Recovery, eMail, Sanctions, Technology

FINRA Fines Firm for Failure

J0442430 I plucked this particular headline out of many as an excellent real-world illustration of the downside of failing to properly retain and archive data.  In this particular instance, Piper Jaffray paid FINRA (the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc.) a $700,000 fine because they were unable to produce an electronic copy of a single email message for an investigation.

Unfortunately, that's when Piper "informed" FINRA about the other 4.3 million emails they failed to retain over a period of six years.  Obviously, I don't have the inside scoop as to why this occurred, but based on experience, I can tell you that $700,000 buys a lot of data protection.

As I've pontificated on many occasions, what if this involved a lawsuit or a tax issue; or a host of other issues?  Does it really matter?  Proper data retention and management may involve a large capital outlay, but pays for itself over and over in the long run.

If you're the person tasked with getting this done, forward this story to your bosses – or present copies at the next meeting.  Eventually, someone will realize that avoiding the issue is simply penny-wise and pound-foolish.