SEBI removes over 1.2 lakh misleading social media posts by unregistered ‘finfluencers’; deploys AI tool Sudarshan

Monday, March 2 — The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has removed more than 1.2 lakh misleading social media posts by unregistered financial influencers, as part of a crackdown on unauthorized investment advice.

SEBI Chairman Wave Song said the regulator has identified and taken down over 120,000 pieces of content that violated regulatory norms.

“We have removed more than 120,000 such pieces of content from social media where we found egregious behaviour violating our norms,” Pandey said.

Investment advice requires SEBI registration

SEBI reiterated that individuals providing investment advice must be registered with the regulator.

“Our rules say that if you have to give investment advice, you have to be registered with SEBI. And being registered means you have certain do’s and don’ts,” Pandey stated.

He clarified that while financial education and freedom of expression are protected rights, regulatory action is taken when content crosses the line into misleading investors.

“People have every right to express themselves and undertake financial education as part of their fundamental right to freedom of expression. Only when you transgress that line and actually mislead investors do we step in,” he added.

AI surveillance tool ‘Sudarshan’

To strengthen monitoring of digital platforms, SEBI has deployed an in-house artificial intelligence tool named ‘Sudarshan’.

“This tool helps us track audio, video and other content to pinpoint where transgressions occur,” Pandey said.

The regulator also confirmed that social media platforms have been cooperating in removing flagged content.

Retail derivatives trading under scrutiny

On retail participation in derivatives markets, particularly options trading, Pandey noted that social media narratives following the Covid-19 pandemic influenced many investors.

He highlighted that SEBI’s data showed substantial collective losses among retail participants in options trading. The regulator introduced statutory warnings, stating that nine out of 10 investors lose money in options tradingto caution participants.

The crackdown reflects SEBI’s increasing focus on digital surveillance, investor protection and regulatory compliance amid rising retail participation in financial markets.

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