Sebi employs AI "Sudarshan" and deletes 1.2 lakh deceptive influencer posts: Chairman
New Delhi: The Securities and Exchange Board of India
(Sebi) has removed over 1.2 lakh misleading social media posts by unregistered
financial influencers and is deploying artificial intelligence tools to monitor
violations across digital platforms, chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said.
Speaking to ANI, Pandey said the regulator had taken action
against content that violated Sebi norms. “We have removed more than 120,000
such pieces of content from social media where we found egregious behaviour
violating our norms,” he said.
Crackdown on unregistered advice
Pandey reiterated that Sebi regulations mandate that only
registered entities can provide investment advice.
“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,” he said.
While acknowledging the fundamental right to freedom of
expression and the importance of financial education, the Sebi chief drew a
distinction between education and misleading advice.
“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, seek removal, and have the content taken down,” Pandey said.
He added that Sebi has the authority to direct content
removal and that social media platforms have been cooperating with such orders.
AI-powered surveillance
To strengthen oversight in the digital space, Sebi has
deployed an in-house artificial intelligence tool named “Sudarshan”.
“We are armed with our own AI tool called ‘Sudarshan’,
through which we are able to track, on a multilingual basis, audio, video, and
other content to pinpoint where transgressions occur,” Pandey said.
The tool enables the regulator to monitor a wide range of
content formats and identify potential violations more effectively.
Concerns over derivatives trading
On retail participation in derivatives markets, particularly
options trading, Pandey highlighted the role of social media narratives in
influencing investors after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Referring to options trading, he said many retail investors
were “much influenced by influencers post-COVID, possibly by misleading claims
that there’s a lot of money to be made in these.”
He noted that Sebi had responded with data-backed measures
and enhanced investor warnings. “Our data showed, and we made it public, that
collectively there were substantial losses. We also introduced a statutory
warning, like those on cigarettes, stating that whenever you trade in options,
9 out of 10 investors lose money. That’s the warning we are giving you. A
pop-up message will appear,” he said.
Calibrated regulation
Describing market regulation as a calibrated exercise,
Pandey emphasised that Sebi’s approach is measured rather than heavy-handed.
“Market development is not about a sledgehammer approach but
more like a surgeon’s knife — identifying problem areas and dealing with them,”
he said.
Calling the past year “a year of reform”, the Sebi chairman
said the regulator remains focused on achieving optimal regulation — striking a
balance between over-regulating and under-regulating the market.
