mainsqueeze...the shares are "locked" voluntarily by a group of shareholders, not by a regulatory agency. These shareholders, us included, own more shares than the company has issued. The reason why this happened is that the MM's were selling shares they didn't have. They sold short. They will be forced to buy back, what they fraudulently sold to us. In order for them to "unlock" our shares, they need to do more than say: Pretty please. They have to bid higher and higher to entice someone to let go of their "locked" shares. That's how they gain, as you put it, "access" to our shares. The trouble for them is that they will have competition from momo (momentum) players, who want to get in on the action, too.
Have you ever seen piranhas in action?