The Editor in Chief of Bloomberg News, Matthew Winkler, apologized Monday for allowing its journalists 'limited access' to sensitive data on how clients utilized the ubiquitous Bloomberg terminals. He said that it was 'inexcusable' but reiterated that important customer data had been protected all this time.
This comes after the European Central Bank has said it was 'in close contact with Bloomberg' on any possible leaks or breaches in the confidentiality of data use by Bloomberg reporters. For its part, the US Federal Reserve was examining if there were any actual leaks of confidential information and even the Treasury Department was getting into the fray.
The policy of allowing Bloomberg reporters access to data considered as proprietary, such as customer views on broad categories such as equities or bond, came to a head last week when Goldman Sachs complained last month. In response, Bloomberg LP has restricted the access to their reporters.
In an editorial, Winkler said on Bloomberg.com. "Our reporters should not have access to any data considered proprietary. I am sorry they did. The error is inexcusable."
He added, "As data privacy has become a central concern to our clients, we should go above and beyond in protecting data, especially when we have even the appearance of impropriety. And that's why we've made these recent changes to what reporters can access."
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