Let’s not get too excited just yet over the SEC’s decision to allow public companies to utilize social media as a primary source for disclosure, provided they disclose to investors which platforms they intend to employ.
While I join many others and readily agree that social media will become an increasingly important and prominent part of disclosure, the SEC’s half response to a slew of recent high-profile social media disclosure test cases, e.g. Netflix, is actually a step back for Reg FD.
Remember, Reg FD was created to provide a level playing field so that all investors, ranging from small retail to large institutions (and everyone in between) would be provided information simultaneously and through a platform that was readily accessible to all.
My concern for the SEC’s announcement yesterday resides with what constitutes accessible platforms. When Reg FD first came about, the approved disclosure platforms were fairly obvious: press releases, national newspapers, broadcast television, radio, etc., and the burgeoning Internet, which over time has increasingly been given prominence, especially in 2008 when corporate websites were deemed to constitute disclosure.
This has been a big year for Apple. Of course, every year for the past five years has been relatively big for Apple, but hey—we finally have the iPhone 5! And iOS6! And a fantastic new maps app!. . . Wait, what's that? Hold on, there was drama surrounding the app because it didn't have the normal coat of polish that most Apple products have? And both Google Maps and Youtube apps are no where to be found in iOS6? Oh my, I feel weak, I need to take a breather.
I could not help but feel a sense of sympathy for Walmart’s communications team (IR, corporate comms, PR, internal comms) when reading this past Sunday’s front-cover New York Times 
I know we all have regulatory fatigue and the last thing we want is another rule. However, this is one we can all agree on. And by “we” I mean IR practitioners and Wall Street. My proposed rule seeks to officially end the practice of companies attempting to bury bad news late on a Friday, or worse, over the weekend. This tactic never works and never has. Companies that use this tactic only succeed in unnecessarily angering their core constituents. If the news is material enough that it warrants an 8-K, and you have flexibility as to when to make the filing, don’t get cute and do it after market on a Friday.
I often write in this blog about the importance of knowing the nuances of corporate governance and disclosure requirements pertaining to IR, and by extension, PR. This has become even more important with the increasing number of regulatory requirements companies are forced to adhere to, ranging from Reg. FD to Sarbanes-Oxley to Dodd-Frank to each Exchange’s own listing requirements. Adding to this complexity is the incorporation of IR into broader communications programs, exposing those who are not familiar with regulatory requirements to a new environment, and vice versa.
