The SEC’s $10 million settlement with “alternative data” provider App Annie Inc. is charting the agency’s road map for boosting oversight of the growing but largely unregulated big data sector.
The App Annie case—a first-of-its-kind case in which the Securities and Exchange Commission accused the company of violating securities law with misrepresentation—underscored emerging legal risks for data sellers and their hedge fund clients that use controversially-sourced information.
Alternative data refers to corporate information not found in financial statements and other traditional sources—from satellite images and customers’ app use to mobile geolocation data analytics and social media mentions. Hedge funds ...