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‘Enforcement 40’ for 2020
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Join the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Group on LinkedInWill the SEC Add to Facebook’s Woes? – The New York Times
Now one of the most pressing questions is whether the Securities and Exchange Commission — the federal agency where Ms. Haugen sent the documents — will significantly add to the company’s woes. Whistle-blowers have filed at least nine complaints to the agency, which has oversight of public companies like Facebook, using a selection of the […]
Facebook executive David Marcus says Bitcoin is an investment, not currency
David Marcus, the head of Facebook’s cryptocurrency projects, on Wednesday said that Bitcoin is digital gold, but it’s not a good currency for transactions. “I don’t think of Bitcoin as a currency. It’s actually not a great medium of exchange because of it’s volatility,” Marcus said speaking at the New York Times DealBook Conference in […]
Facebook to Pay $100 Million for Misleading Investors About the Risks It Faced From Misuse of User Data
Facebook has agreed to pay $100 million to settle the charges. According to the SEC’s complaint, in 2014 and 2015, the now-defunct advertising and data analytics company, Cambridge Analytica, paid an academic researcher, through a company he controlled, to collect and transfer data from Facebook to create personality scores for approximately 30 million Americans. In […]
Facebook Names State Department’s Newstead as General Counsel
Facebook Inc. named Jennifer Newstead, a legal adviser to the U.S. State Department, as the social media giant’s general counsel to replace Colin Stretch, who announced he was leaving last year. via Facebook Names State Department’s Newstead as General Counsel.
Facebook’s cryptocurrency could be $19B revenue opportunity: Barclays
The social network is reportedly developing a cryptocurrency that could be part of a multibillion-dollar revenue opportunity, Barclays internet analyst Ross Sandler said in a note to clients Monday. Sandler forecasted as much as $19 billion in additional revenue by 2021 from “Facebook Coin.” Conservatively, the firm sees a base-case of an incremental $3 billion […]
SEC Probes Why Facebook Didn’t Warn Sooner on Privacy Lapse – WSJ
John Reed Stark, a cybersecurity consultant and former SEC enforcement attorney, said the way Facebook reported the incident could raise a red flag for the SEC if Facebook earned revenue from contracts with third-party vendors that misused private member data yet failed to disclose that the contracts potentially violate global and U.S. privacy laws as […]
Facebook must face shareholder class actions over IPO | Reuters
A federal judge has certified two shareholder class actions accusing Facebook Inc of hiding concerns about its growth forecasts prior to the social media company’s May 2012 initial public offering. U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet in Manhattan said retail and institutional investors who claimed to lose money from buying Facebook shares at inflated prices in […]
The Changing Face of SEC Career Opportunities – Compliance Week
It is Friday, so let’s take a brief break from the serious to try to answer the following question: why did the SEC change the photo on the cover of its Facebook page for “Career Opportunities?” The true answer may never be known but I believe there is a simple explanation: the need to eliminate […]
Facebook, Underwriters Make Dismissal Pitch in IPO Investor Suits — The Litigation Daily
In a 61-page brief filed on Wednesday, Facebook’s lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis and Willkie Farr & Gallagher moved to dismiss consolidated securities litigation over the IPO. Contrary to a slew of complaints filed by plaintiffs lawyers, they argued that Facebook adequately warned investors in the run-up to the IPO that increased mobile usage might […]
Mass. fines Morgan Stanley over Facebook research
Mass. AG charges Morgan Stanley with improperly coaching Facebook on how to disclose sensitive financial information selectively.