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Morgan Stanley is going after people on X who post screenshots of its research, filing Digital Millennium Copyright Act complaints against at least 16 posts and temporarily locking the account of one of the most visible strategists in the finance world.
Ryan Detrick, the chief market strategist at Carson Group Holdings, had his X account locked on September 3, 2026, after Morgan Stanley flagged one of his posts. The complaint was initiated by Denise McCool, Morgan Stanley’s global chief data, AI, and risk officer for research. It specifically cited a chart from a report by Mike Wilson, Morgan Stanley’s chief US equity strategist and chief investment officer.
What happened
Across at least 16 different posts or accounts, Morgan Stanley deployed DMCA takedown notices targeting users who had shared screenshots of its proprietary charts and research reports. In most cases, the flagged content was either removed or edited following the complaints.
Detrick’s account lock was resolved quickly after he familiarized himself with X’s copyright regulations.
Detrick noted that he had shared bank research many times before without running into issues, and said he would have complied if Morgan Stanley had contacted him directly.
The enforcement actions surfaced publicly between September 3 and September 4, 2026, via Bloomberg, and many of the affected users had actually attributed the material to Morgan Stanley in their posts.
The bigger picture: Wall Street vs. the information commons
Investment banks have always guarded their research. These reports are expensive to produce and are a major selling point for institutional clients paying six- and seven-figure annual fees.
Prior to this episode, the public circulation of full reports or detailed charts was technically restricted by copyright protocols, but enforcement was rare enough that most people didn’t think twice about it. Morgan Stanley’s decision to file 16 DMCA complaints in quick succession marks a meaningful escalation.
What this means for information access
For financial professionals who have built audiences by curating and commenting on bank research, the calculus just changed. Sharing a chart with attribution used to feel like fair use in spirit, even if the legal argument was shaky. Now, the risk of an account lock or content takedown adds real friction.
Morgan Stanley is within its legal rights here. DMCA complaints are the standard mechanism for enforcing copyright online, and proprietary research is clearly protected intellectual property.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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