The SEC tried to silence activist investors. Now they’re fighting back.

Since the start of Donald Trump’s presidency, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has increased the difficulty for small and activist investors to voice their concerns through EDGAR, the government filing system. In response, these investors have launched their own platform, the Proxy Open Exchange (POE).

This initiative aims to enhance transparency in a more restricted environment. In January, the SEC announced that investors holding less than $5 million in shares could no longer use EDGAR to send exempt solicitations to shareholders. These documents typically express investors’ positions on issues like climate action, board accountability, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

“We believe a free market requires communication,” stated Andrew Behar, CEO of the shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, which led the creation of POE. “If they’re going to take away EDGAR, we’re going to give them POE.”

The response has been rapid. Within a week, POE had 63 filings, with many more anticipated. In contrast, EDGAR has only 39 exempt solicitations listed for 2026.

The SEC declined to comment on POE, but previously told Grist that limiting access to EDGAR was an effort to reduce government scope, ease regulatory burdens, and manage the “large volume” of urgent requests. “Over the years, companies have expressed concerns that this misuse has caused confusion among their investor base,” an SEC spokesperson said. They noted that shareholders could still conduct exempt solicitations through other means like press releases, emails, websites, and social media.

Critics argue that this move aims to silence troublesome investors.

POE is not the sole alternative to EDGAR. The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility recently began posting exempt solicitations and proxy memos on its website. However, POE is the most comprehensive effort to address the gap caused by the government.

According to Behar, POE is designed to replicate EDGAR, using the same central index keys to identify individuals and companies. While As You Sow reviews submissions for simple errors, POE, like EDGAR, accepts all viewpoints without filtering content.

“POE is a new and adventurous approach to try to set up a large public website that people of all persuasions can post their solicitations on,” explained Tim Smith, senior policy advisor for Interfaith Center, who praised the initiative. “It could be an investor filing a resolution on climate or a conservative investor challenging diversity, equity, or inclusion.”

According to Jill Fisch, a business law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, any filings on POE must comply with the same anti-fraud legal provisions as EDGAR, ensuring accuracy. She highlighted POE’s user-friendly interface compared to the outdated and glitchy government site.

However, not all parties are embracing POE. Behar mentioned that one of the largest proxy advisors, ISS, will not consider information outside the official platform, and the company did not respond to interview requests. Nonetheless, Fisch emphasized the potential for a wide range of users, including mutual funds, smaller institutions, and universities.

Fisch is interested in observing data on site usage in the coming months, although it is still early days. She also noted that companies like Exxon Mobil, which has opposed shareholder advocacy, might view POE as a threat and could develop their own platforms. Alternatively, companies might urge the SEC to revert to EDGAR for centralized filings.

Reversing the SEC’s decision could be straightforward. “Any new administration or new SEC could change this in a moment,” Smith remarked, an outcome Behar hopes for, viewing POE as a temporary solution.

“We do not want this to be a necessary platform into perpetuity,” Behar expressed. “This is hopefully short-lived. When the administration changes and the SEC returns to its core mission, we expect EDGAR to be restored because transparent information sharing is essential for the free market.”

Fisch noted that platforms like POE often become permanent fixtures. Even if EDGAR’s restrictions are lifted, she believes investors will continue using alternatives due to their cost-effectiveness and convenience. “Once investors figure out how cheap and easy and convenient it is to use the internet and social media to communicate, I don’t think they’re going to stop,” she concluded. “The cat’s out of the bag.”