In general, if a company makes a statement within 30 days of filing their registration statement that the SEC considers to be an attempt to pre-sell the public offering, they could deem it a violation of the Securities Act. Possible consequences of violating the quiet period include:
Liability for violating securities laws
A delayed public offering date
A requirement to disclose potential securities laws violations in the prospectus
The spirit of the quiet period has not changed since its inception. However, Wall Street is dealing with things that couldn’t have been imagined back then. For that reason, the rules that designate what is or is not a violation of the quiet period have changed, particularly with regard to electronic communication. This has opened up the quiet period to additional as the definition of “free and fair communication” continues to evolve.