Netflix CEO denies wrongdoing in SEC Facebook-post case
BY Wire reports
Friday, February 01, 2013
2/01/13 at 4:48 AM
Netflix Inc. CEO Reed Hastings says he'll keep posting on Facebook as the Securities and Exchange Commission weighs whether to file a lawsuit over a corporate disclosure he made on the social network.
"I wasn't setting out to set an example. I was sharing something to these 200,000 people," Hastings told Bloomberg News in an interview this week.
Hastings may have violated SEC disclosure guidelines when he wrote in a July 3 Facebook post that viewing on Netflix's video-streaming service had "exceeded 1 billion hours for the first time" in June. He later received a Wells Notice from the SEC, whose staff determined that he violated selective disclosure rules. Corporate discloses typically are made through a filing with the SEC.
The SEC is weighing whether to bring a case against Hastings.
The incident, which could result in sanctions, has led to calls for the SEC to broaden its rules to allow social media such as Facebook and Twitter to be used to communicate to investors.
Hastings called the posting to his Facebook contingent of 200,000 followers "very public."
"I'm not going to back down and say it's inappropriate," he said. "I think it's perfectly fine. Sometimes you're just the example that triggers the debate."
Associated Images:
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings: "I'm not going to back down and say it's inappropriate. I think it's perfectly fine."
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