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Rep. Lauren Boebert Blasts 'Big Tech' For Restricting Trading Of GameStop Stock, Calls For Investigation

(CBS4) -- Social media is now involved in market trading like never before. This week, investors rallied on Reddit to make GameStop one of the hottest stocks in the market -- which hurt short sellers and hedge funds. Now Congress is weighing in, and U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert from Colorado is calling for an investigation into trading companies that restricted sales of shares.

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Photo by Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images

This week, members of the internet investing community collaborated on the Reddit page WallStreetBets, to rally behind GameStop and other struggling companies like AMC Theaters and Nokia.

GameStop shares have been a target of hedge funds and so-called short-sellers who wager that the shares of particular companies will fall, CBS News reports.

RELATED: GameStop And The Stock Market: What's Going On?

"Today, hard-working Americans lost their investments after Robinhood and other financial institutions engaged in unprecedented market manipulation and halted the purchase of GameStop stock and other securities to prevent further financial losses for their hedge fund buddies on Wall Street," Rep. Boebert said in a statement.

Lauren Boebert
Rep. Lauren Boebert during a group photo with freshmen members of the House Republican Conference on the House steps of the Capitol on Jan. 4, 2021. (credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Boebert said she and 10 other Members of Congress have called on the Security and Exchange Commission to launch an investigation into the legality of the events.

"Big Tech and Wall Street's collusion have led to massive distrust in the market," Boebert stated. "That trust will not be restored until our questions are answered and those responsible are held accountable."

On Twitter, Republican U.S. Rep. Ken Buck from Colorado also called for an investigation.

RELATED: Is GameStop's Soaring Stock An Indicator Of Possible Market Bubble?

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