February 26, 2022
The word confidential or confidentiality appears 17 times in the proposed rule. I want to raise the point that short positions SHOULD NOT be confidential.
Short positions have a strong impact on the market. The abuse of short positions (naked shorting) can drive the company into bankruptcy, and there have been examples of this in the past. The company Viragen was naked shorted into bankruptcy. Overstock suffered a severe naked shorting attack in the past and they tried to fight it with a crypto dividend.
If shorting has such a dramatic impact on the market, why would it be confidential? This is utter stupidity. As a regulatory agency the SEC is supposed to protect market stability. So why would what is effectively the financial equivalent of a nuclear weapon be considered confidential? Shouldn't you want to know the exact number of shorts on any given stock?
All short positions should be reported. No excuses, and no exceptions. Not even for market makers.
It should be public. Retail traders should be able to visit any stock website and see the exact number of short positions on any given stock. This should be basic information available to everyone.
I hope my concerns are read and heard. Thank your for your time.
Josh