Legal experts warned the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that its proposal to force companies under investigation to keep quiet about the probe might violate free speech rights, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. The reactions came during the public comment period for the watchdog agency’s proposed regulation, which broadly updates rules and procedures for the confidential treatment of information obtained through the bureau’s supervision and enforcement actions, as well as the public’s access to information under disclosure rules. Among the 27 comments submitted to the bureau, the American Civil Liberties Union and a group within the American Bar Association criticized a provision within the regulation that would prohibit individuals and companies from disclosing confidential investigative information. The proposed step would restrict companies from discussing information on a wide range of issues connected to any bureau investigation, including the existence of the investigation itself. A company planning to disclose the information with external entities would have to get approval to do so from a senior CFPB official.
