If an entity provides notice through electronic means, it should consider the extent to which the communication provides timely and adequate notice to investors that the information is available. If the electronic document itself is provided to the investor, notice can be presumed. However, if a document is simply offered on a company's or issuer's Internet Web site, separate notice may be necessary to satisfy the delivery requirements. In connection with its annual meeting, Company XYZ places proxy soliciting materials on its Web site and places an advertisement in The Wall Street Journal indicating that its proxy materials are now available on its Web site. This advertisement, even coupled with the shareholders' express consent that these materials may be distributed via the company's Web site, is insufficient since there is no reason to believe The Wall Street Journal notice would make the shareholders aware of the availability of the proxy materials.
More direct delivery is required.
See Example 24 from the October Release. Similarly, investors who receive materials electronically must have access comparable to the access provided to those who receive a document in paper form. Thus, the recipient should not have to be a computer expert in order to quickly and easily access delivered information. Company XYZ then confirms by mail the sale of securities to those investors who have consented to delivery via the company's Internet Web site. A note on the bottom of the confirmation notes the availability of the prospectus on the Web site and provides the location of the Web site.