Philippines to monitor social media in fight against insider trading

Manila

THE Philippines will start formally monitoring social networks such as Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc as the nation's securities regulator cracks down on stock-market manipulation and Ponzi schemes.

The Securities & Exchange Commission is collecting evidence to prepare a case against one company for insider trading, commissioner Ephyro Luis Amatong said in a May 18 interview, without naming the firm. The regulator will monitor tweets and Facebook chat groups for signs of price manipulation and is "actively pursuing" other cases, he said, declining to say whether they are primarily investigating company insiders or brokers.