The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) of US is spot-checking brokerages’ use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs.
In its targeted exam letter for June, the regulator said it wants broker-dealers to identify the sites used by a firm, as well as all individuals who post or update the firm’s content on social-media sites.
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The letter, which FINRA posted to its website, included requests for information such as how firms monitor whether their use of social media complies with industry rules.
The regulator also asked for specific data such as the URLs for each social media site used by firms.
The regulator has also asked for a list of the top 20 producing registered representatives at the targeted B-Ds who used social media to interact with retail investors from February 4 through May 4.
FINRA published an initial social media regulatory notice in January 2010, providing guidance on the industry’s use of blogs and social media networking sites. In August 2011, the watchdog provided further guidance in Regulatory Notice 11-39.
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By GlobalDataLater that year, the regulator backed off a proposal that would have required broker-dealers to file social-media postings with FINRA.
