SIFMA provides comments to the Rhode Island State House expressing its serious concerns about proposed social media legislation, HB 5255, as currently drafted. This legislation would, among other things, prohibit employers from requiring that current or prospective employees provide employers with access to their personal social media accounts.

The securities industry has no interest in accessing employee accounts that are used exclusively for personal use. The problem, however, is that many people use the same account for both personal and business activity.

While HB 5255 is well-intentioned, they conflict with the duty of broker-dealers to supervise, record, and maintain business-related communications as required by both the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and by state law.