Article

Public Trust and Market Integrity: How Insider Trading and Power Distort Fairness

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Abstract

Upholding public confidence is crucial in maintaining the stability of societal institutions. This article analyzes the ongoing threats to the integrity of the United States’ financial markets that result from inadequately addressed conflicts of interest. In particular, it examines the fundamental failures of the enforcement of insider trading laws, with a focus on congressional stock trading. Furthermore, by building on examples of political influence on markets, such as the market-moving effects of presidential statements, the article investigates the emergence of prediction markets. The subsequent discussion details the methods that platforms use to bypass existing legislation and emphasizes the risks of manipulation in these loosely regulated markets that lack transparency. Together, these issues reveal how flaws in modern law allow those with access to privileged information and significant power to gain financial advantages that conflict with the basic principles of fairness. 

Keywords: Insider Trading, Congressional Integrity, Congressional Accountability, Public Trust, Market Influence

How to Cite:

Glik, M., (2025) “Public Trust and Market Integrity: How Insider Trading and Power Distort Fairness”, UMass Undergraduate Law Review 2(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.7275/uulrj.3566