Morgan Stanley has begun actively targeting X (formerly Twitter) accounts that share its proprietary research and charts, filing Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) complaints. This action has resulted in at least one account, belonging to Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group Holdings, being temporarily locked. Detrick, with 222,400 followers on X, received a notice citing an April post containing a chart from a research report by Mike Wilson, Morgan Stanley's chief US equity strategist. The bank's complaint stated that the "copyrighted work is, in full or part (reports, graphs and charts), a proprietary Morgan Stanley Research Report."
The complaints, citing at least 16 accounts, have led to many of the posts being removed or edited. Detrick expressed surprise, noting that the post had been online since April and directly attributed the content to Wilson and Morgan Stanley. He mentioned that he would have removed the post if contacted directly, and that he has posted similar research for years without issue. He characterized Morgan Stanley's actions as a misunderstanding of how the "Fintwit" community operates, where finance enthusiasts often share charts and research to foster discussion.
Detrick's account was locked on September 3, and he later received an email from X Legal Support confirming the DMCA takedown notice. The email identified Denise McCool, Morgan Stanley's global chief data, artificial intelligence, and risk officer for research, as the complainant, with brandprotection@mm-enforcements.com as the contact. Detrick has attempted to reach out but has not received a response. He is now concerned about the possibility of his account being permanently suspended, as X's policy indicates that multiple copyright complaints or evidence of repeat infringement could lead to account suspension. Morgan Stanley declined to comment on the matter.
