B.C. regulator proposes sweeping new rules to crack down on social media-driven stock promotions – by Barbara Shecter (Financial Post – May 27, 2021)

https://financialpost.com/

The rules — the first of their kind in Canada — would apply to newsletters, financial blogs, emails, oral statements, social media posts, videos or any other communications

British Columbia’s securities watchdog is proposing sweeping new rules that would require anyone promoting stocks on social media or via video to reveal whether they own the security or derivatives of it, and to additionally disclose any compensation they are receiving for the promotion.

If the rules are adopted following a 60-day comment period, anyone promoting stocks or other securities could face potential enforcement by the regulator for failing to disclose any “facts that would interfere with the objectivity of the person doing the promotion.”

“People should know if someone promoting a stock has a financial or other interest, because that would help them decide how much weight to give the promotion and make better informed investment decisions,” said Peter Brady, executive director of the B.C. Securities Commission.

The rules — the first of their kind in Canada — would apply to newsletters, financial blogs, emails, oral statements, social media posts, videos or any other communications, “in any platform or medium,” according to a statement from the BCSC late Wednesday.

For the rest of this article: https://financialpost.com/news/fp-street/b-c-regulator-proposes-sweeping-new-rules-to-crack-down-on-social-media-driven-stock-promotions/wcm/e5e6deb2-9d00-4e9e-b3e0-540fb5bb7d31/amp/