SEC Targets Its Own Staff’s Texting, Nixes WhatsApp on Work Phones
- Move followed crackdown on Wall Street over WhatsApp use
- CFTC is considering similar measure for its own employees
The US Securities and Exchange Commission headquarters in Washington, DC.
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/BloombergThe US Securities and Exchange Commission has blocked third-party messaging apps and texts from employees’ work mobile phones, bringing its own practices closer to the standards it’s enforcing for the industry.
The SEC’s decision to block disappearing-messaging apps will help improve record-keeping and address potential security vulnerabilities at the agency, which saw one of its social-media accounts compromised earlier this year. It follows about $3 billion in fines imposed on financial firms to settle allegations that they failed to keep adequate records of work-related communications on mobile devices and apps such as Signal and Meta Platforms Inc.’s WhatsApp.