With major technology mergers dominating the news in 2008, having up-to-date information on the investor relations Web sites of companies like Microsoft, Yahoo, or Google can help reporters on deadlines as well as shareholders wondering whether their life savings are about to chewed up and spit out by Carl Icahn.
Federal guidelines for what type of information companies can provide on their official Web sites, however, have not been updated since 2000, so the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday voted unanimously to modernize its rules to fit in with an increasingly digital economy.
Under the revamped rules, which have not yet been released in their entirety, information posted on a company Web site does not necessarily have to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley rules relating to a company's disclosure controls and procedures.
The rules also provides clarity on how companies can: provide access to historical or archived data without it being considered reissued or republished every time it is accessed; link to third party information or Web sites without having to “adopt" that content for liability purposes; use summary information in the context of the securities laws' antifraud provisions.
Meanwhile, Web sites no longer have to include a “printer friendly" version of all their documents so sites can include more interactive and dynamic features.
Federal guidelines for what type of information companies can provide on their official Web sites, however, have not been updated since 2000, so the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday voted unanimously to modernize its rules to fit in with an increasingly digital economy.
Under the revamped rules, which have not yet been released in their entirety, information posted on a company Web site does not necessarily have to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley rules relating to a company's disclosure controls and procedures.
The rules also provides clarity on how companies can: provide access to historical or archived data without it being considered reissued or republished every time it is accessed; link to third party information or Web sites without having to “adopt" that content for liability purposes; use summary information in the context of the securities laws' antifraud provisions.
Meanwhile, Web sites no longer have to include a “printer friendly" version of all their documents so sites can include more interactive and dynamic features.
