Dump The Pump

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SEC RELEASES NEW GUIDANCE ON
THE USE OF COMPANY WEBSITES

On August 1, 2008, the SEC released interpretive guidance concerning the use of websites
as a means of communicating important information to the investing public. The SEC last
released guidance on this topic in 2000. Since then, investors have been increasingly using
the Internet to get information about public companies. This updated interpretive guidance
was anticipated to be a significant step in recognizing such changes and elaborating on the
role of the anti-fraud provisions of the securities laws in light of the changing environment...

http://www.hro.com/files/file/publications/ALERT-SECGuidanceCompanyWebsites.pdf

Electronic Forums. The SEC encourages companies to put procedures and controls in place to monitor statements
made on behalf of the company in electronic forums and reminds companies that interactive features, such as blogs
and electronic shareholder forums, are subject to the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws. This means
companies are responsible for statements made by the company or on its behalf on their website or a third party website,
and liability cannot be avoided by purporting to speak in one’s “individual” capacity. In addition, the release makes clear
that a company cannot require investors to waive protections under the federal securities laws as a condition to accessing
or participating in a blog or forum. However, a company is not responsible for statements made by third parties and is
not obligated to respond or correct misstatements made by third parties, even if those statements are made on a
company-sponsored forum or blog.