"This is clearly insider trading. It's non public info." is broken logic. You are allowed to trade on non-public information; in fact, for the markets to work effectively, you want people to do exactly that.
You got downvoted because you appear to have either missed the words in breach of a fiduciary duty or other relationship of trust and confidence in your own quote, or responded under the misconception that I'm arguing that the Capital One guys should be allowed to do what they did.
Well the SEC agrees, so I'll go ahead and trust them and my years of training.
Trading on any insider non-public info is actionable by the SEC. Keep your eye on this one, should be fun for those involved. I sure as hell wouldn't risk it.
And Google, Microsoft, Yelp, Facebook, etc employees can buy and sell stock and have non public info as they work at the companies. The question here is, is it material? Inside companies you see and hear about many things... which of them material, well, that's the grey I'm referring too in part.
Employees always (in my experience) are explicitly restricted from trading company stock based on non-public info. There are also [usually] specific windows in which employees cannot trade in the company's stock.
Additionally, I have worked for companies which prohibited transactions in any derivatives or options and barred shorting the stock.
Certainly, I too was restricted at my company: no shorting (of any stocks!) and no buy/selling of stocks x-days before earnings announcements. A part from that, you could trade without any other contractual restrictions. The determination of material information wasn't not decided by the company... and I guess it's something that is is only brought up in case of an investigation.
I had tons of non public info as an auditor for Arthur Andersen. No way in hell I would have traded on any of that information. Job > Jail.