Netflix CEO Won’t Face SEC Claims Over Facebook Disclosures

Netflix Inc. Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings won’t face regulatory sanctions for announcing monthly viewership results on his Facebook page even though the company didn’t report the information in a public filing, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said today.

The SEC refrained from bringing an enforcement action against Hastings or Netflix, which runs a subscription service for watching television programs and movies, because of uncertainty about how disclosure requirements pertain to social media, the agency said in a statement. Instead, the SEC released a report of its investigation that says companies can use social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter to announce key information so long as investors have been told where to look.