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Danske Bans Economists From Tweeting as Law Causes Confusion

Danske Bans Economists From Twitter as New Law Causes Confusion

Danske Bank A/S has told its economists to stay off Twitter and other social media platforms until Denmark’s largest lender fully understands the legal consequences of new legislation.

A new Danish law prohibits providers of consumer loans from advertising on the same platforms as betting companies. It’s unclear if tweets from Danske’s staff can be labeled as advertisement and if the lender’s consumer loans fall under the category targeted by the law.

Danske tweeted its new rule late Tuesday as the law became effective on July 1. A number of Danske’s high-profile analysts, including Chief Economist Las Olsen, later tweeted they are suspending Twitter activity until further notice. So far, no other Danish banks have announced similar measures.

“We’re in the process of clarifying the meaning of the new rules and what they entail for our communication on social media,” Stefan Singh Kailay, a Danske spokesperson, said in a response to emailed questions. “For that reason we’ll be a bit more quiet over the summer.”

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.