SETTING RULES FOR WORLD WIDE WHISPERERS

Many companies like the Internet as a way to get information to investors, analysts and customers, but there’s a dark side to open access.

Some firms are finding confidential information, strategic speculation and other potentially damaging data being discussed by their employees in chat rooms and message boards.

Maryann Waryjas, 45, a partner at Chicago law firm Jenner & Block, is trying to bring order to the chaos. She’s written a model confidentiality policy that sets clear guidelines for what workers can and cannot disseminate on the web.

“Companies need to have a strong policy in place,” says Ms. Waryjas, a Chicago native. “So, I produced a sample that says, basically, if you’re not an authorized spokesperson, you won’t talk company business on the Internet.”

Grousing about a company may be protected by the First Amendment, but sharing memos, sales figures or other information isn’t, particularly if it has the potential to move the company’s stock, she contends. But “it’s not always a clear line,” she adds.

Yet many companies are seeking to establish some barriers.

Already, there have been cases of initial public offerings being delayed because Internet postings violated the Securities and Exchange Commission’s quiet period, and of stock prices moved by unscrupulous short-sellers who posted inaccurate information about a public company.

“The chat rooms are unedited. They are not (run by) people who evaluate sources and information before putting it into print,” says Louis M. Thompson Jr., president and CEO of the National Investor Relations Institute in Vienna, Va.

“The template Maryann has written allows companies to develop their own employee policy statements so (workers) know the rules. If you put confidential information out there, it may be insider information and you may be violating securities laws.”

Crain News Service