Trump’s SEC Guts Investor Protections   

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), an agency ostensibly tasked with protecting shareholders, has transformed into another breeding ground for the Trump administration’s attempts to consolidate power into the hands of the privileged few at the expense of the many. 

Since early 2025, SEC Chair Paul Atkins has ushered in a series of reforms that undermine the ability of everyday shareholders—which includes you, me, and anyone with a retirement account—to ensure that companies respect human rights while safeguarding their IRA’s long-term financial value. For example,

•  The SEC issued guidance (Staff Legal Bulletin 14M,) that broadened what counts as “ordinary business” and hence could not discussed by shareholder, making it easier for companies to exclude important ESG issues from being voted upon;
• Chair Atkins invited businesses to argue that shareholder proposals requesting disclosure around environmental or human rights standards violate Delaware law, and hence may be ignored; and 
• The SEC announced it would stop issuing responses to companies’ “no action requests,” or petitions that seek permission to exclude shareholder proposals from going to a vote altogether, leaving companies with more freedom (and less oversight) to decide on their own whether to exclude proposals. 

Taken together, these maneuvers have slashed investor protections and emboldened companies to abandon responsible business and human rights policies. The result is now a private sector that is less transparent and accountable to investors and the public than anything we’ve seen in recent history. 

Concentrating power, shrinking accountability

Amazon moved quickly to take advantage of the SEC’s rollback of shareholder protections, unilaterally excluding five environmental, social, and governance proposals from its 2026 Annual General Meeting. This far exceeded what any other company did in the wake of the new Trump rules. This is not just a technical move. It is a deliberate effort to escape accountability to investors, regulators and— critically— the companies’ own workers. 

The proposals Amazon excluded were not abstract or immaterial. They called for greater transparency on precisely the areas where risks to workers, communities, and long-term investors are most acute. One proposal requested an independent assessment of whether Amazon’s deployment of artificial intelligence aligns with its own stated approach to responsible AI, particularly relevant given the role of AI in monitoring and managing workers. Another called for an evaluation of the effectiveness of the company’s policies and practices to respect internationally recognized human rights standards across its operations and supply chains. We already know that the company relies on surveillance technologies and algorithmic systems to monitor performance, set productivity targets, and discipline workers in real time. These systems already leave little room for worker voice or negotiation, prioritizing efficiency and output over dignity, safety, and agency.

Seen together, the exclusion of shareholder proposals and the intensification of worker surveillance are not separate issues. They are mutually reinforcing. By restricting shareholders’ ability to raise concerns about labor practices, AI governance, or human rights, Amazon removes one of the few mechanisms through which external stakeholders can challenge the systems to monitor and discipline its workforce. In doing so, the company reduces external pressure to change practices that have been raised by investors, workers, and civil society. It similarly jeopardizes long-term shareholder value by increasing the likelihood that Amazon will face reputational damage, litigation, and operational risks associated with grinding labor practices.

Meaningful accountability is pushed further out of reach. The result is a structure where various stakeholders are excluded from shaping the decisions that will impact them.

The Era of Corporate Oligarchy

Indeed, the silencing of stakeholders sits within a broader context of rising corporate oligarchy and political capture, where politicians and business work hand-in-glove: as Jeff Bezos underwrites the Trump administration’s inaugural fund and pours millions more into the construction of the controversial White House ballroom, the administration repays his largess by slashing what few regulations had previously protected stakeholders from Amazon’s rapacious hunt for short-term profits.

This, of course, comes at the expense of the general public. That includes Amazon’s workers, who could have benefitted from improved labor practices achieved through DEI and human rights proposals that the company unilaterally blocked, as well as any long-term investor who would’ve like the company to avoid the financial risks tied to irresponsible deployment of AI or political lobbying practices that is misaligned with the company’s public statements.

The symbiotic relationship between Bezos and Trump is illustrative of our entrance into a Second Gilded Age, with large corporations and billionaire donors gaining unparalleled access to government power. This trend is visible across multiple spheres: from record-breaking spending on corporate lobbying to the unprecedented influence of tech firms, the weakening of anti-trust enforcement to the White House dropping all Foreign Corrupt Practice Act investigations, the U.S. has entered a nadir of corporate accountability. 

As Oxfam has observed, rising inequality and the expanding influence of concentrated wealth are weakening democratic accountability. Given the critical role that democracy plays in protecting human rights, the general public must push back.

Restoring accountability and voice

Don’t let weakened rules silence critical stakeholder voices. Don’t let the Trump era be the end of corporate accountability. Amazon has chosen to block scrutiny over the practices that define how workers are monitored, how risks are managed, and how value is created. 

That choice must be reversed.

Amazon should:

• Commit to full transparency and accountability in its shareholder engagement including by publicly committing not to unilaterally omit proposals related to human rights, labor practices, artificial intelligence, or political activity.
• Engage meaningfully with stakeholders including through bilateral investor dialogue and transparent responses to key shareholder concerns, demonstrating how their inputs shapes decisions.
• Assess and disclose human rights impacts, including how surveillance technologies are used to monitor, evaluate, and discipline workers, and the resulting impacts.

We call on Amazon to respect shareholder rights, and stakeholders and workers’ voices.  Because when companies can both control how work is managed and limit whether those practices are scrutinized, accountability becomes optional, and harm is more easily obscured.

We also call on the SEC to protect the shareholder rights Chair Atkins has dismantled over the past year. You can help preempt the Trump Administration’s assault on shareholder rights by lending your personal or organizational support to this petition.