That's insider trading, but not Insider Trading™. >In the United States and most non-European jurisdictions not all trading on non-public information is illega

That's insider trading, but not Insider Trading™. >In the United States and most non-European jurisdictions not all trading on non-public information is illegal insider trading. For example, a person in a restaurant who hears the CEO of Company A at the next table tell the CFO that the company's profits will be higher than expected and then buys the stock is not guilty of insider trading—unless he or she had some closer connection to the company or company officers. However, even where the tippee is not himself an insider, where the tippee knows that the information is non-public and the information is paid for, or the tipper receives a benefit for giving it, then in the broader-scope jurisdictions the subsequent trading is illegal. Basically, so long as the text exchange wasn't given to Hidenburg in return for some kind of economic favor, there isn't a legal issue.