Wall Street firms are escalating a crackdown on Fin Twit accounts, locking traders and analysts out of X as AI copycat fears grow. Neil Sethi, a small investment firm owner from Ohio, lost his decade-old account after Bank of America accused him of sharing data without permission. For years, traders posted research to build audiences, believing it benefited banks through exposure. Now, strict regulations and AI threats have prompted banks to protect proprietary analysis. Ben Mok of Corsearch notes AI agents scrape posts to enhance answers without attribution, rendering reports obsolete and undercutting analyst fees. At least a dozen accounts received DMCA notices from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley. Ryan Detrick of Carson Group received his notice on Sept. 2, while financial writer Mike Zaccardi has faced a barrage of complaints over the past year, including from LinkedIn. The banks themselves have been tight-lipped, with Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs declining to detail specific enforcement steps. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Toronto-Dominion also remained silent on actions taken.
The crackdown reflects a broader industry shift. Over two decades, regulations and index funds gutted research departments. Now, AI breakthroughs threaten to commodify proprietary analysis instantly. Firms fear chatbots will synthesize research, making their insights less valuable. Royal Bank of Canada and X did not respond to requests for comment. The trend signals Wall Street’s increasingly aggressive stance against unofficial distribution of financial data online.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing