This is interesting. I wonder what percent of outstanding shares of $GME WSB commenters collectively own and whether the SEC could make the case they're operating as a "group" for disclosure purposes.
15 U.S. Code § 78(i)(a)(2) - Manipulation of security prices
[It shall be unlawful...] ...to effect, alone or with 1 or more other persons, a series of transactions in any security registered on a national securities exchange, any security not so registered, or in connection with any security-based swap or security-based swap agreement with respect to such security creating actual or apparent active trading in such security, or raising or depressing the price of such security, for the purpose of inducing the purchase or sale of such security by others.
1. Back channel communications and coordination between users.
2. User identities, including how many participating Reddit accounts are operated by the same individuals as alt accounts.
Basically, doing any effort to raise stock price beyond it's "proper" price in a coordinating way is a violation. Proving it is an entire another thing. I doubt this is what happening right now. I would like to see anyone trying to prove that ":rocket::rocket::rocket: GME to 1000" counts as such.
However, liability like that is why AMC is forbidden to mention in r/WSB by its name. It's easy to pump and dump that ticket.
This is why many "Let's take over this company with small market cap" threads were removed back in a day.