Investor to AT&T – give us a peek at your NSA data dealings

An activist investor is pressing AT&T for more details about how it handles government data requests. Arjuna Capital said it will ask at the next shareholder meeting for investors to vote on a proposal [PDF] requiring AT&T to issue detailed reports of the company's policy on providing customer information to the NSA in light …

[Youngone]

State Secrets

I would have thought AT&T would be right wouldn't they?

The US has these Star Chamber type secret courts that issue secret rulings that can't be seen by the likes of you and I so AT&T would be in breach of the law if they did comment publicly.

The secrecy might be in poor taste, but I'm pretty sure it's legal.

[Medixstiff]

Re: State Secrets

Yeah but as Snowden proved, there's lots of secret stuff that contravenes their own amendments, so stuff them.

I say shine as much light on the murky goings on of certain US agencies as possible, they've been quite comfortable living in the shadows for decades getting away with morally questionable stuff, make them answer for it. They love to say "innocent until proven guilty" but I say "you prove a valid reason why you should be able to get away with this, that the common person will agree with" otherwise stick it where the sun doesn't shine princess.

[srelf]

Re: State Secrets

Poor taste! Ha! Liberty and freedom paid for in blood by our ancestors violated by such activity calls for a much stronger objection than naming it as "in poor taste."

[Anonymous Coward]

Nyah nyah...

AT&T: We can't tell you how tight we are with the Feds because saying so is against the law. It's not our fault!

[allthecoolshortnamesweretaken]

That's possibly the first action by an 'activist investor' I can applaud.

[Anonymous Coward]

Owners?

so the owners of the firm have no right to know what's done? Seems a bit outrageous, given that the 'help', ie, the management, knows.

[s5PGmU]

Liars..

"...AT&T does not believe that it could implement the proposal [...] without, at minimum, either confirming or denying whether it provides information to the NSA above and beyond what is legally required..."

If AT&T can't truthfully deny that it is providing the NSA with information beyond what is legally required, would it not follow that AT&T is breaking the law?

[s5PGmU]

Re: Liars..

On further consideration, I suppose AT&T's lawyers could argue that unless there's a law prohibiting them from sharing private customer data with the NSA (*cough* 4th Amendment *cough*), they can do whatever they want with that information.

[Peter Simpson 1]

Room 641A

However, we're happy to allow NSA to tap our cables whenever they want. We'll even provide floor space in our facilities to them for that purpose. Just being a good citizen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_641A