SEC Proposes Amendments to the Whistleblower Program

In 2011, pursuant to authority granted under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) adopted rules implementing the whistleblower provisions of Section 21F of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Whistleblower Program). The Whistleblower Program allows the Commission to provide monetary rewards to whistleblowers who provide the Commission with information that leads to successful enforcement actions. Over the past seven years, the Commission has trumpeted the successes of its Whistleblower Program—namely, that information provided by whistleblowers has led to almost $1.5 billion in disgorgement and penalties and over $275 million has been paid out in whistleblower "awards."