SEC Plan to Track Americans’ Stock Investments Sparks Legal Fight

‘We think it’s vital to strangle this new illegal power grab,’ Scott Shepard, director of the Free Enterprise Project, said.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City on July 26, 2023. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

All stock trades conducted on U.S. exchanges will soon be surveilled by the government, according to a newly implemented plan by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The SEC’s “Consolidated Audit Trail” (CAT) mandate would “allow regulators to efficiently and accurately track all activity throughout the U.S. markets,” the SEC stated.