Investors Ask AT&T, Verizon to Show Government Data Requests

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Trillium Asset Management LLC filed shareholder proposals asking AT&T to report government requests for customer information. Trillium also presented a similar measure at Verizon.

The resolutions would have the two biggest US phone carriers report what information was shared with American or foreign governments and how often, along with what efforts the companies made to protect the privacy of their customers, said Michael Connor, executive director of Open MIC, a New York-based political advocacy group. The investors are pushing for more openness after reports that major Internet companies and US carriers have cooperated with government agencies by sharing some customer data. In June 2013, the Guardian newspaper reported on a secret court order directing New York-based Verizon to collect call data. “Transparency allows investors to make informed decisions about corporate behavior,” said DiNapoli, trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund. “Publishing regular reports on requests for information from governments would be an appropriate response to shareholder and customer concerns about trust and privacy in the digital world.” Bob Varettoni, a Verizon spokesman, said the company has received the proposed resolution and declined to comment on the request.