14 DAY TRIAL // Reporters from the famous multinational mass media corporation Bloomberg are accused of using the company’s financial data terminal to spy on individuals that use the service for market news and trading information.
The news came to light after Goldman Sachs representatives started complaining about the fact that Bloomberg reporters were keeping tabs on their employees.
A few hours ago, Matthew Winkler, the editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, admitted that reporters had accessed client information. However, he stressed that they could only access limited data.
Nevertheless, new policies have been implemented, preventing reporters from accessing customer information, a practice that’s said to have started in the 1990s.
According to Winkler, the journalists could only access “a user’s login history and when a login was created” and “high-level types of user functions on an aggregated basis, with no ability to look into specific security information.” In addition, they could also access information about help desk inquiries.
“At no time did reporters have access to trading, portfolio, monitor, blotter or other related systems. Nor did they have access to clients’ messages to one another. They couldn’t see the stories that clients were reading or the securities clients might be looking at,” Winkler noted.
He also highlights the fact that all employees are prohibited from discussing documents and proprietary information about the organization and its clients in their reports.
“We apologize for our error as it does not reflect on our culture or our heritage. And we will strive to continue to uphold the highest standards while adhering to the best practices in the industry as long as we may be fortunate to serve our customers as they would have us serve them,” Winkler concluded.