SEC: Companies can use social media to put out information so long as they give advance alert

WASHINGTON – The Securities and Exchange Commission will allow public companies to make significant announcements on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites provided they alert investors which sites they intend to use.

The decision allows companies to use social media in place of more formal websites. An SEC rule requires that all investors receive significant company information at the same time.

Companies should alert investors in press releases or regulatory filings that they are going to use specific social media to disseminate information that could potentially affect the price of the company’s stock, the SEC said.

The question arose after Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said on his Facebook page that monthly online viewing by customers had exceeded one billion for the first time, the agency said.