The SEC may be investigating one or more activist short sellers, based on its September 2026 FOIA Logs released yesterday.
The SEC May Be Investigating Activist Short Sellers
What the B7A Exemption Reveals
On September 29, 2026, the SEC applied the B7A exemption to a FOIA request from Joe O'Donnell of Canary Data for "any email correspondence" between the SEC and roughly 25 domains associated with the activist short community.
The SEC commonly uses the B7A exemption to withhold records that could interfere with an ongoing enforcement proceeding. Most notably, Mr. O'Donnell has filed a similar request every month since March 2025 and has never received a B7A response before. You can track these kinds of patterns yourself using FOIAsearch.com to surface SEC FOIA logs.
Why This Doesn't Necessarily Mean Short Sellers Are Targets
Importantly, this doesn't necessarily mean that any of the named short sellers is under investigation. In fact, the withheld correspondence could relate to an investigation of an entirely different company or an investigative tip from an activist short seller.
The government databases used by professional investors can reveal enforcement patterns, but interpreting them requires nuance. A B7A exemption signals an ongoing proceeding exists, but it doesn't tell you who's under scrutiny.
A Narrow Issue or a Signal of Wider Action
This could be a very narrow issue or a signal of wider action to come. The full original FOIA Logs are available for review online.
What makes this worth watching is the pattern break. Monthly requests with consistent responses suddenly getting a different treatment suggests something changed in what the SEC is willing to disclose.
Keep an eye on future FOIA logs to see if this develops into something broader.