The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States provides guidance in relation to records that comprise corporate web sites.
Effective August 7, 2008, an interpretive release to provide guidance
regarding the use of company web sites under the Exchange Act and
anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws. Businesses with global practice areas are advised to take note. Comments on the guidelines are
invited and must be received should by November 5, 2008.
Click here to access the release which includes the following important topics. Legal implications of public websites are often overlooked. The SEC release provides highlights the issues.
1. Clarification on how information posted on a company Web site may be considered "public", providing guidance for compliance with
public disclosure requirements under Regulation FD.
2. Clarification of the liability framework for (certain types of)
electronic disclosure, including how companies can provide access to
historical or archived data without it being considered reissued or
republished every time it is accessed. (This is a general legal consideration that many corporations fail to address in records management generally.)
3. Clarification of how companies can link to third party information or
Web sites without necessarily assuming liability associated with that content.
4. Clarification of the "appropriate" use of summary information with regard to the securities laws' anti-fraud provisions.
5. Clarification that the anti-fraud provisions apply to statements made
by the company (or by a person acting on behalf of the company) in blogs
and electronic shareholder forums, and that companies cannot require
investors to waive protections under the federal securities laws as a
condition to enter or participate in a blog or electronic shareholder
forum.
6. Clarification that information posted on company Web sites may not be subject to rules under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act relating to corporate
"disclosure controls and procedures" in general.
7. Clarification that information need not satisfy a "printer-friendly"
standard, commonly applied, unless other rules explicitly require it. This provision is in consideration of website elements that facilitate interactive and dynamic design features.
Corporate websites are your "public face" and serve multiple purposes. Particularly for companies in banking, financial investment and related domains, the SEC's release provides valuable insight and can reduce risk associated with clever wording that, once published, becomes evidence of claims and assurances made to the public. Does your records management program extend to managing all recorded information? Your web presence is but one example of a critical concern.
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"Once it was the mining of ore and gold that generated wealth. Tomorrow it is going to be the mining of minds."
Leif Edvinsson, World's 1st CKO
If business guru Tom Peters is correct in saying that the currency of the 21st Century is knowledge, then any business with an eye on the future needs its staff to invest that currency. In turn, that means every business needs to make its own investment in creating the kind of culture and environment in which knowledge is nurtured, expanded and celebrated. Create the kind of workplace in which your knowledge workers invest their knowledge in your business.
When technology can be harnessed to support learning communities of practice, and when community members--your staff--excel through well designed work-flows that generate authentic and reliable records, you have a recipe for success. People, combined with information, are fundamental.
Janne Horkonen's Jaywalk
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