SEC eyes greater regulation of stock trading after GameStop saga

The Securities and Exchange Commission is weighing new regulations on stock-trading apps after a frenzy in GameStop and other "meme stocks" earlier this year, according to a report issued by the commission Monday.

The video-game retailer's stock saw a massive price surge in January as retail investors poured into the markets, many of them spurred by apps like Robinhood, which allow users to trade stock for free. As the trading devolved into a standoff between ordinary investors who were bidding up prices of the company and hedge funds that were short-selling GameStop, betting the price would fall, Robinhood halted trading in GameStop and dozens of other popular public companies, prompting consumer outrage, a number of lawsuits and a congressional hearing.

Robinhood, which counts 13 million users, promised to "democratize" stock trading but has been criticized for manipulating would-be traders by gamifying aspects of buying and selling stocks in ways that appeal to young investors, and for selling users' order information to larger trading firms that execute their own transactions based on what's known as "order flow."