Netflix (NFLX) CEO Hastings Prompts SEC to Outline New Social Media Guidelines for Business

All eyes are now on Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) CEO Reed Hastings. Last year, Hastings posted a message to his personal Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) account, stating that Netflix total monthly viewing surpassed one billion hours for the first time. The SEC said "Netflix did not report this information to investors through a press release or Form 8-K filing, and a subsequent company press release later that day did not include this information. Neither Hastings nor Netflix had previously used his Facebook page to announce company metrics, and they had never before taken steps to alert investors that Hastings’ personal Facebook page might be used as a medium for communicating information about Netflix." For more on the message and Hastings' response, click here. Today, the U.S. SEC released details of a recent investigation on how companies can use social media. The SEC said that "companies can use social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter to announce key information in compliance with Regulation Fair Disclosure (Regulation FD) so long as investors have been alerted about which social media will be used to disseminate such information." For the news release, click here. Basically, Hastings might have ignited a change through the entire social media segment with one simple post. Shares of Netflix are down 3.3 percent Tuesday.s

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• SEC accuses ex-BofA senior banker Satsky of insider trading - Bloomberg
• Werewolf Therapeutics to merge with Ambros in $150M private placement
• Elroy Air wins $46M U.S. Army contract for cargo drone system