SEC Collects Thousands of Wall Street Staff Messages in Probe of WhatsApp, Signal Use

SEC has collected thousands of staff messages from over a dozen Wall Street firms as part of a probe into use of WhatsApp and Signal.

Firms being investigated include Carlyle Group, Apollo Global Management, KKR & Co., TPG, Blackstone, and hedge funds like Citadel.

SEC is collecting more messages in this probe than in previous broker-dealer investigations.

Firms have argued SEC is unilaterally expanding rules through enforcement instead of due process.

In August 2023, SEC charged 11 firms with recordkeeping failures related to personal device messaging; fines totaled $289 million.