"We have enough powers to proceed," the official, who requested anonymity because he was not allowed to speak with media, told Reuters. SEBI was "testing if the powers given to us can stand the scrutiny of law. "SEBI's chairman, Ajay Tyagi, at a press conference on Thursday said that pursuing suspected illegal activity taking place on social media was new territory for the regulator. But market participants "cannot hide behind technology", he said.The lawyers interviewed by Reuters said defendants would likely counter efforts by SEBI to access their social media accounts on privacy grounds. "Violation of privacy rights is definitely one of the potential challenges SEBI faces," said Vaneesa Agrawal, a former SEBI official who is now a partner at Suvan Law Advisors.

Source: Economic Times December 30, 2017 08:37 UTC