SEC Search Tools

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) offers public-facing search tools.

Example search tools

• EDGAR historical and "latest filings" search tools
• SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) code tools

Relationship to consumer issues

These tools could be used to identify information related to potential consumer violations, such as:

• The official name and information of an entity, its parent or subsidiaries
  • Companies may have similar-sounding names or different sub-entities which are actually responsible for a portion of specific consumer interactions under the larger organization
  • Entities may simultaneously operate in different jurisdictions having distinct consumer protection rules
  • An actionable consumer complaint can require precise legal information regarding any involved parties such as companies providing a service to consumers
• Some ownership and control information can be relevant to consumer protection
  • For example, change in company control could portend changes in consumer interactions (e.g., when a company has an established pattern of increasing control over other companies and changing service quality or terms post-facto)
  • Benchmarking and comparing the incidence of consumer issues by commonalities such as ownership/control, industry, jurisdiction, etc.
• Potential relationships between entities
  • For example, an entity may require a customer to interact with an affiliated entity which might result in putting the customer at a disadvantage (such as overestimating the degree of data privacy that may be afforded by interacting with the first entity)