Don’t Forget the G: The SEC’s Recent Priorities Demonstrate a Focus on “Governance”

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Don’t Forget the G: After Years of “Environmental” and “Social” Regulations and Enforcement, the SEC’s Recent Priorities Demonstrate a Focus on “Governance”

The SEC has been busy under the Biden administration. From rulemaking to enforcement, the agency is pushing boundaries and expanding its reach into new and active areas of the market. Here, we provide updates on the Commission’s activity in several high-priority areas, including ESG, insider trading, ephemeral messaging, and the clawback of executive incentive-based compensation.

ESG Regulation and Enforcement Using Preexisting Rules and Historical Causes of Action

SEC Chair Gary Gensler recently spoke about how various types of crypto technology, like “crypto token, stablecoin, or decentralized finance platform (DeFi) . . . are covered by [existing] securities laws.”1 Paraphrasing Aristotle, Gensler concluded, “[t]reat like cases alike.”2 Those observations mirrored earlier comments by Commissioner Hester M. Peirce on ESG regulation and enforcement:…

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