Two B.C. public companies have recently reached settlements with the B.C. Securities Commission after admitting to improper social media influence campaigns.
Between January 2017 and February 2017, Bearing — then known as Bearing Resources Ltd., paid Stock Social to conduct marketing. Bearing and Poirier admitted to contraventions of the B.C. Securities Act in an agreement published on Aug. 4. The Stock Social campaign corresponded with a jump in Bearing’s share price, from about 50 cents per share in December 2016 to a peak of $1.43 in mid-February 2017. The stock slid precipitously after record trading volume at that time. The company trades for 32 cents per share and has no revenue.