SEC & Whistleblower Alert! Statement from Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda who OPPOSES the SEC's amendments about Whistleblower rules aimed to Incentivize Whistleblower Tips.

Source: https://www.sec.gov/news/statement/uyeda-statement-whistleblower-program-082622

Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda:

While I support the important work of the staff in the Office of the Whistleblower in their efforts to arrive at an appropriate result in evaluating claims, I am unable to support today’s amendments.

The Commission is revisiting rules that were finalized a little over a year and a half ago. Reversing rules shortly after adoption, in the absence of a regulatory weakness or failure, sets a bad precedent, risks eroding the Commission’s regulatory credibility, and increases costs for market participants by requiring frequent reevaluations of compliance obligations.

Today’s amendments are not aimed at remediating any known or identified weaknesses with the current whistleblower rules. Indeed, the Adopting Release acknowledges that “[w]histleblower programs, including the SEC’s whistleblower program, have been studied by economists who report findings consistent with award programs being effective at contributing to the discovery of violations.” As the economic analysis points out, the total amount of awards, and number of recipients, increased significantly since 2019. From 2020 to 2021, the total awards more than tripled, while the number of recipients also almost tripled. These increases, reflected in the table below, suggest that the existing Whistleblower Program framework is properly incentivizing claimants.

SEC Whistleblower Program Annual Award Activity:

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