Section 17(b)

Section 17(b) of the Securities Act — the anti-touting provision — makes it unlawful to publicise a security for compensation without fully disclosing who paid, and how much. It is the statute behind most paid stock promotion cases.

Also known as anti-touting provision. law and enforcement · updated 2026-09-23

Where does section 17(b) come up?

This term is used in the following manipulation techniques, each explained in full on its own page.

Paid stock promotion — Paid stock promotion is publicising a security in exchange for compensation, which is lawful only if the fact of payment, the payer and the amount are fully disclosed under Securities Act Section 17(b).
Newsletter scalping — Newsletter scalping is recommending a security publicly while secretly selling it into the demand the recommendation creates, so that subscribers acting on the advice become the publisher's exit.

Enforcement actions involving these techniques

Action	Agency	Filed	Technique	Penalty	Status
SEC v. Brian Keasberry (paid stock promotion, 2026)	SEC	2026-08-21	Paid Stock Promotion	$37.5k	judgment
SEC v. Justin Sun, Tron Foundation Limited, BitTorrent Foundation Ltd., Rainberry, Inc., and DeAndre Cortez Way (paid stock promotion, 2026)	SEC	2026-03-05	Paid Stock Promotion , Wash Trading	$10m	judgment
SEC v. Medallion Financial Corp., Andrew Murstein, Lawrence Meyers, and Ichabod’s Cranium, Inc. (paid stock promotion, 2025)	SEC	2025-06-06	Paid Stock Promotion	$3m	judgment
SEC v. John S. Clayton and others (insider trading, 2024)	SEC	2024-12-11	Insider Trading , Paid Stock Promotion	—	filed
SEC v. Marco Babini, et al. (paid stock promotion, 2024)	SEC	2024-09-27	Paid Stock Promotion	—	judgment

Terms that refer here

Section 17(a) · Stock promoter · Touting

Back to the full glossary — 261 defined terms.

Section 17(b)

Where does section 17(b) come up?

Enforcement actions involving these techniques

See also

Terms that refer here