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'WallStreetBets was well within normal parameters' says Reddit CEO Steve Huffman

Reddit CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman spoke to the GameStop (GME) stock scenario in a new testimony.

February 18, 2021 10:50 AM

The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing where several companies and figures involved with the GameStop (GME) short squeeze. One of the executives that provided testimony was Steve Huffman, CEO and co-founder of Reddit, the home of r/WallStreetBets, the community that organized the plan to drive up the price of GameStop (GME). During his segment, Huffman stated that he believes r/WSB was ‘well within normal parameters’ in its behavior.

During the House Financial Services Committee hearing, Reddit CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman spoke about the role Reddit played in January’s events. Since the community that organized and developed the plan to buy a bunch of GameStop (GME) shares and drive up the price did so on Reddit, many have pinned a portion of the blame on the platform and its ownership for not moderating the situation.

"In every metric we checked, the activity within WallStreetBets was well within normal parameters and its moderation tools were working as expected. We will, of course, cooperate with valid legal requests from federal and state regulators. That said, we do believe that this community was well within the bounds of our own policies," said Steve Huffman, Reddit CEO and co-founder during his testimony at the hearing. Huffman spoke to the humorous, crass, meme-driven nature of r/WallStreetBets and the way it factored into January’s events.

The House Financial Services Committee hearing featured the CEOs from Robinhood and Reddit, as well as Keith Gill (a.k.a. Roaring Kitty) to discuss the events that lead up to and caused the GameStop (GME) stock short squeeze. For more on the ongoing situation, stick with us here on Shacknews.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_

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