The circular, issued on February 26, 2026, requires intermediaries registered under Section 12 of the SEBI Act, 1992 — including stock brokers, depository participants, mutual funds, investment advisers, research analysts, AIFs, REITs, InvITs and other SEBI-regulated persons — to clearly display their registration credentials on social media handles and in market-related content.
Sebi said the decision comes amid the rapid growth in the use of social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, X, LinkedIn, Telegram and Reddit for dissemination of securities market-related information. The objective is to help investors distinguish between content posted by SEBI-regulated entities and that published by unregistered individuals.
Under the new norms, entities with a single Sebi registration must disclose their registered name and registration number both on the home page of their social media handle and at the beginning of each video or post related to the securities market.
Entities holding multiple Sebi registrations will be required to provide a weblink on their social media homepage directing users to their official website listing all registration details. However, in individual posts or videos, they must disclose only the relevant registration under which the content is being published.
The circular also lays down similar disclosure requirements for agents of regulated entities, including mutual fund distributors and authorized participants. Agents must disclose both the principal entity’s SEBI registration details and their own credentials, depending on whether they hold single or multiple registrations.
The new provisions will come into effect from May 1, 2026, and will apply to all content uploaded on or after the effective date.SEBI said the move is part of its Ease of Doing Investment (EoDI) initiative and has been issued under its powers to protect investor interests and regulate the securities market.
(Disclaimer: The recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times.)