InfoAnda - SEC wrestles with Internet age in Netflix case |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Ericsson sues Samsung for patent infringement | | 27 November 2012
22 NKoreans abandon troubled ship in Philippines | 1 January 2010
Merkel, Medvedev tout 'strategic' economic cooperation | 15 August 2009

TV Actor Johnny Palermo Dies At Age 27 | 13 June 2009

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : SEC wrestles with Internet age in Netflix case |

Edition: U.S. Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Social Pulse Business Video The Freeland File Aerospace & Defense Investing Simplified Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB Dividends World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Africa Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Reuters Investigates Decoder Politics Politics Home Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Tech Tonic Social Pulse Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Nader Mousavizadeh Lucy P. Marcus Nicholas Wapshott Bethany McLean Anatole Kaletsky Zachary Karabell Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Reihan Salam Frederick Kempe Mark Leonard Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Breakingviews Video Money Money Home Tax Break Lipper Awards 2012 Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik James Saft Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Money Clip Investing 201 Life Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Reuters TV Reuters News Article Comments (0) Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Pakistan tribal sources say U.S. drone strike kills al Qaeda commander 12:36am EST "Gangnam Style" singer Psy apologizes for past anti-U.S. songs 07 Dec 2012 Special Report: From abuse to a chat room, a martyr is made - Jane's Jihad | 07 Dec 2012 Iran's long-range missiles said to lag U.S. intelligence fears 07 Dec 2012 Canada OK's foreign energy takeovers, but slams door on any more 12:42am EST Discussed 161 Egyptian protesters breach presidential palace cordon 139 IRS aims to clarify investment income tax under healthcare law 91 ”Fiscal cliff” talks down to Obama and Republican Boehner Pictures Reuters Photojournalism Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption Syria in ruins Images of a landscape devastated by war. Slideshow Gay marriage in America A look at the legal battles and the controversies over gay marriage. Slideshow Sponsored Links SEC wrestles with Internet age in Netflix case Tweet Share this Email Print Related News SEC wrestles with Internet age in Netflix case Fri, Dec 7 2012 REFILE-UPDATE 3-Netflix says CEO's Facebook post triggered SEC notice Thu, Dec 6 2012 Netflix says CEO comments triggered SEC action Thu, Dec 6 2012 In brewing rivalry, Instagram trims ties to Twitter Wed, Dec 5 2012 Netflix to get Disney films in TV distribution deal Tue, Dec 4 2012 Analysis & Opinion Counterparties: 43 words you can’t say on Facebook How the United Nations could ruin the Internet Related Topics Tech » Media » Facebook » Regulatory News » Breakingviews » A sign is shown at the headquarters of Netflix in Los Gatos, California September 20, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Robert Galbraith By Aruna Viswanatha and Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON | Fri Dec 7, 2012 7:14pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A regulatory probe of Netflix Inc over disclosures made on its chief executive's Facebook page could prove an important test of whether a rule designed to prevent leaks to analysts can translate to the social media age. The movie and TV streaming service revealed on Thursday that it may face action from the Securities and Exchange Commission if the agency determines the comments from CEO Reed Hastings violate a rule that requires information to be disclosed to investors at the same time. Hastings' Facebook page had more than 200,000 subscribers, including reporters and analysts, when he told them on July 3 that the company had hit 1 billion hours viewed in June. By comparison, cable financial news network CNBC had 175,000 viewers and Fox Business News had 59,000 viewers on December 6, according to the website TV by the Numbers, citing Nielsen data. But the case may not hinge on whether Hastings' Facebook page qualifies as a public dissemination. Instead, it may come down to two other issues. One, whether the information was material to investors. And two, if it was material, whether investors knew that Hastings' Facebook page was a venue to release important company news. As evidence of materiality, the SEC could point to statements Hastings made earlier in the year highlighting milestones, including hours streamed, as metrics investors should watch. But the company contends the July 3 comments were not material. It says that the company posted a blog entry a few weeks earlier that said the company was approaching that milestone. Also, Netflix General Counsel David Hyman testified before a U.S. House of Representatives committee on June 27, and said at the beginning of his testimony that Netflix "delivers close to a billion hours of streaming movies and TV shows to its consumers every month." Such prior disclosure could hurt any SEC case. "Whether what he said is materially different from what the company has already disseminated, that may be a real challenge for the commission to maintain that position in court," said former SEC lawyer Eugene Goldman who is now with McDermott Will & Emery. But movements of the company's stock price could bolster an SEC case if the agency can prove the stock jumped on the news. Netflix attributed the jump in its stock price to a positive analyst report released the night prior to Hastings' Facebook post. The stock closed at $67.85 on July 2, and opened one percent higher the next day at $68.49, on a positive report from Citigroup. The stock closed at $72.04 on July 3, a six percent jump that would be unusual from an analyst report alone. 'LIVING IN THE REAL WORLD' The second issue of whether Hastings' Facebook page was a known source of material company news goes to the heart of whether the SEC's rules - and its interpretation of them - are outdated. SEC adopted the rule at issue, Regulation Fair Disclosure, or Reg FD, in 2000 over concerns that companies were meeting with small groups of analysts or institutional investors and disclosing material information to them. The concern was that "shortly after these types of meetings, trading would take place on the basis of such information," Goldman said. "This seems a lot different from that." The new potential action raises questions about whether the rule was designed to address disclosures like the one made by Hastings. "There's a huge divide between CEOs living in the real world and the financial industry, which lives behind regulatory walls. Reg FD is built for the old way of communicating from behind these walls," said Howard Lindzon, a hedge fund manager and founder and CEO of StockTwits, a social network for traders and investors to share real-time ideas and information about stocks. Reg FD does not delve into the use of social media for disclosing information to investors. But the SEC issued guidance on the subject in August 2008. That guidance states that companies can use websites to disclose information as long as they are a "recognized channel of distribution." To determine that threshold, the SEC lists factors companies should weigh, including whether their site is "posted and accessible" and also whether "the company has made investors and the markets aware that it will post important information" on the website. Netflix may have hurt itself on this point, if the SEC is able to prove that the information was material. Hastings acknowledged in a blog posting on Thursday that the company does not "use Facebook and other social media to get material information to investors." The SEC is likely to home in on that comment as it continues its case against the company. But Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors who has posted company-related developments on his Twitter feed, said it is hard to believe that the SEC could consider a CEO's Facebook post to be a narrow release. He noted that reporters regularly follow companies' and executives' social media posts. "To consider a press release to be a more public venue than a Facebook or Twitter account where someone is followed by hundreds of thousands of people, including the press themselves, is simply untrue," Musk said in an email. (Reporting By Aruna Viswanatha and Sarah N. Lynch in Washington; Additional reporting by Alistair Barr, Ronald Grover and Nichola Groom; Editing by Karey Wutkowski and Tim Dobbyn) Tech Media Facebook Regulatory News Breakingviews Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Edition: U.S. Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use AdChoices Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Saturday, 8 December 2012
U.S. extends waivers on Iran sanctions to China, India and seven others |
Second bomb this week kills three in Nairobi suburb |
U.N. says Congo army, rebels have committed rights abuses |
Exclusive: Google to replace M&A chief |
Cisco bets on software and services for mid-term growth |
Springsteen, Alabama Shakes top Rolling Stone's 2012 best music |
Top theatre director targets young with $16 seats |
Egyptian opposition to shun Mursi's national dialogue |
Pakistan tribal sources say U.S. drone strike kills al Qaeda commander |
Iran's long-range missiles said to lag U.S. intelligence fears |
Clinton to testify on Benghazi attack report: U.S. lawmaker |
Bahrain Crown Prince calls for new dialogue with opposition |
Some foreign firms still active in Iran's energy sector: U.S. report |
China suspends eight officials for mine deadly mine accident: report |
Rebels circle Damascus airport; Russia, U.S. downbeat |
U.S. trade-human rights link tests Obama-Russia ties |
Internet governance talks in jeopardy as Arab states, Russia ally |
Apple and Samsung: A defining rivalry in a changed mobile market |
SEC wrestles with Internet age in Netflix case |
Singer James Taylor suggested for lead role in Lincoln |
Rapper Notorious B.I.G.'s autopsy released 15 years after murder |
Gangnam Style singer Psy apologizes for past anti-U.S. songs |
Feted in Gaza, Hamas leader to attend victory rally |
Afghan leader says to raise attack on spy chief with Pakistan |
Berlusconi says will run for Italian leadership again |
Philippines declares state of calamity after deadly typhoon |
Eight police injured as Northern Ireland riots spread |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01