The Securities and Exchange Commission apparently no longer has to comply with requests for information from the public, including those filed under the Freedom of Information Act, because of a little-noticed provision in the new financial regulations that became law last week. The law exempts the SEC from disclosing records or information derived from “surveillance, risk assessments, or other regulatory and oversight activities.” Given that the SEC is a regulatory body, the provision covers almost every action by the agency. Congress and federal agencies can request information, but the public cannot.