Friday, November 22, 2013

Investors: AT&T and Verizon must say how much customer data goes to NSA



Investors: AT&T and Verizon must say how much customer data goes to NSA
Phone companies' customers could switch networks if they feel their privacy is being compromised, say investment funds
The Guardian, Thursday 21 November 2013 12.56 EST          
Big investors in America's two largest mobile phone companies have demanded they disclose how much customer data they hand over to the US and foreign governments. Documents from the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden show AT&T and Verizon have installed equipment to copy, scan and filter large amounts of the traffic that passes through their networks.

AT&T and Verizon Communications, which owns Verizon Wireless, will face votes at their annual shareholder meetings following formal requests from one of New York's biggest public sector pension funds and a large private investment firm. The $161bn New York State Common Retirement Fund, which manages the pensions of more than 1 million state workers, and Trillium Asset Management, a Boston-based investment management firm with $1.3bn under management, have lodged demands with both networks to publish the number of requests they receive for customer information every six months.

The investors said customers could switch to other networks if they think their privacy has been compromised.

AT&T has also been warned that its willingness to co-operate with state-sponsored surveillance could hamper its ambitions to expand its business into Europe. The company is reported to be considering a bid for Vodafone, the British-based mobile network with outposts across Europe, Africa and Asia.

The Verizon chief executive, Lowell McAdam, when asked about the company's legal obligations, recently stated: "We are the largest telecommunications provider to the United States government, and you have to do what your customer tells you."

A Verizon spokesman said: "We've received the proposal and we're currently evaluating it." A spokesman for AT&T stated: "As standard practice we look carefully at all shareholder proposals but at this point in the process we do not expect to comment on them."

National Security Agency (NSA)
Booz Allen Hamilton is a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA).

Note: Edward Snowden was an employee at Booz Allen Hamilton, and leaked information about the National Security Agency (NSA).
Keith B. Alexander is a director at the National Security Agency (NSA), and a friend of Barbara G. Fast.
Barbara G. Fast is a friend of Keith B. Alexander, was a VP at the Boeing Company, and a VP for the CGI Group Inc.
W. James McNerney Jr. is the chairman & president & CEO for the Boeing Company, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Commercial Club of Chicago, Members Directory
Please note: This link for the members of the Commercial Club of Chicago can no longer be found.
R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.
Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.
Newton N. Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Robert S. Osborne is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and the EVP & general counsel for Booz Allen Hamilton.
CGI Group Inc. was the Obamacare contractor that developed Healthcare.gov web site.
Obamacare is Barack Obama’s signature policy initiative.
Donna S. Morea was the EVP for the CGI Group Inc., and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Committee for Economic Development, and the Brookings Institution (think tank).
George Soros is the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Victor A. Pelson was a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and the chairman of global operations for AT&T Inc.
Richard H. Davis is a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and was a Verizon Communications Inc. client.
Laura D'Andrea Tyson was a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and is a director at AT&T Inc.
Hugh B. Price was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and is a director at Verizon Communications Inc.
Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a senior counsel for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle, a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP is a lobby firm for AT&T Inc.
James W. Cicconi was a partner at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a senior EVP for AT&T Inc.
Mayer Brown is a lobby firm for AT&T Inc.
Robert A. Helman is a partner at Mayer Brown, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and was an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
William M. Daley was a partner at Mayer Brown, the chief of staff for the Barack Obama administration, and is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
William M. Daley
Professional career
Daley returned to the practice of law, as a partner with the firm Mayer Brown (then Mayer, Brown & Platt) from 1993 to 1997.
Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Valerie B. Jarrett is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, Vernon E. Jordan Jr’s great niece, and the senior adviser for the Barack Obama administration.

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