SEC Proposes Changes To Whistleblower Program Rules

On February 10, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed two amendments to the rules governing its whistleblower program, Exchange Act Rules 21F-3 and 6. "These amendments, if adopted, would help ensure that whistleblowers are both incentivized and appropriately rewarded for their efforts in reporting potential violations of the law to the Commission," said SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

Section 21F established the SEC's whistleblower program by authorizing the SEC to make monetary awards to individuals who voluntarily provide original information that leads to successful SEC enforcement actions resulting in monetary sanctions exceeding $1 million. The SEC's whistleblower program is administered by the Office of the Whistleblower, an office within the SEC's Division of Enforcement. Since the program's inception, the SEC has awarded more than $1.2 billion to individual whistleblowers whose information and cooperation assisted the SEC in bringing successful