Verizon To Publish Transparency Reports In 2014

US mobile operator Verizon says it will publish a transparency report twice a year, revealing the number of requests for information it receives from law enforcement agencies in the US and other countries in which it operates.

The US National Security Agency’s (NSA) alleged mass surveillance of Verizon customers’ telephone communications was one of the first revelations to emerge from the exposure of US government surveillance by the whistle blower Edward Snowden

The first report will be published in early 2014 and will identify the total number of requests received in criminal cases and break them down into categories such as subpoenas, court orders and warrants, along with legal demands it receives.

Verizon transparency report

However like similar transparency reports published by other Internet companies, Verizon’s will not include information about national security requests and it is working with the US government to see how much detail it can make public.

The company says it is committed to its customers’ privacy and has called on the US government to be more open about its requests.

“Although we have a legal obligation to provide customer information to law enforcement in response to lawful demands, we take seriously our duty to provide such information only when authorised by law,” says Randal S. Milch, executive vice president, public policy, and general counsel. “We have released the lion’s share of this data for the past two years, and we are taking this step to make this information more consistently and easily available.

“In the past year, there has been greater focus than ever on the use of legal demands by governments around the world to obtain customer data. Like others in the industry, the aim of our transparency report is to keep our customers informed about government requests for their data and how we respond to those requests.

“Verizon calls on governments around the world to provide more information on the types and amounts of data they collect and the legal processes that apply when they do so.”

Google published its own transparency report last month, and complained that it is not allowed to reveal how much information is requested by organisations like the NSA. The search giant, along with Microsoft, sued the American government in September for the right to provide more information on information requests and clear their name over alleged collusion with US agencies.

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