La SEC reconnaît les sites Web, blogues et forums comme canaux officiels de communications
Une excellente nouvelle ce matin venant du blogue de Pisani :
Les entreprises devraient bientôt pouvoir utiliser leurs sites publics et leurs blogs pour diffuser des informations officielles sur leurs activités. C’est ce que vient d’annoncer la Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) qui veille à ce que Wall Street respecte la loi. Brian Solis salue l’initiative et croise les doigts pour qu’elle entraîne la mort des communiqués de presse. J’applaudis. M’abonner aux flux RSS qui m’intéressent m’épargnerait de pester contre leurs RP qui m’inondent chaque matin de communiqués dont je n’ai que faire.
Sur le site de la U.S Securities and exchanges commision on peut lire :
The release addresses certain issues that continue to arise under the antifraud provisions regarding the use of company web sites.
First, the release updates current guidance regarding the effect of accessing previously posted materials or statements on company web sites so that such previously posted materials or statements would not, without more, be considered reissued or republished for purposes of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws, including any duty to update such information.
Second, the release provides further guidance on how companies can hyperlink to third-party web sites without “adopting” the third-party information for liability purposes. The guidance suggests, among other things, that companies explain the context for the hyperlink to make clear why the hyperlink is being provided, be aware that selective choices to hyperlink to specific third-party information may indicate that the company has a positive view or opinion about that information, and consider using other methods to denote that the hyperlink is to third-party information.
Third, the release provides guidance for companies that provide summaries of information on their web sites in the context of the antifraud provisions including techniques that companies can use to highlight the summary nature of the information provided.
And fourth, the release addresses antifraud issues that may arise when issuers, their officers, and employees speak on company-sponsored blogs or electronic shareholder forums. In particular, it provides guidance for companies hosting or participating in blogs or electronic shareholder forums about the applicability of the antifraud provisions to statements made by the company or by a person acting on behalf of the company. It also highlights the restrictions on a company’s ability to require investors to waive protections under the federal securities laws as a condition to entering or participating in a blog or forum.
The release also provides guidance about the extent to which “disclosure controls and procedures” apply to statements on company web sites and helps to clarify the boundaries of disclosure controls and procedures, since companies must disclose whether their disclosure controls and procedures are effective.
Finally, the release acknowledges that the nature of online information is increasingly interactive, and not static. The release, therefore, makes clear that information appearing on company web sites does not need to satisfy a printer-friendly standard or be in a format comparable to paper-based information, unless the Commission’s rules explicitly require it.
Bon, cela étant dit, les paris sont ouverts pour savoir ça va prendre combien de temps à l’Autorité des marchés financiers pour en faire autant de ce côté-ci de la frontière. Moi je prédis deux ans, et vous?