Internet Privacy and Freedom of Expression

The Internet is becoming a defining infrastructure of our economy and society in the 21st century. Internet service providers are gatekeepers to this infrastructure, providing access, managing traffic, and making rules that can shape and limit the public’s Internet use. Once online, search engine/ advertisers Google and Yahoo! are widely used to navigate the web. Their increasing need to generate revenue through online advertising raises important privacy concerns. Consumers have a right to strong privacy protections. As You Sow is concerned with two specific aspects of consumer privacy online: behavioral advertising and freedom of expression. A case-study on Google’s controversial policies around user privacy follows.

Google and Your Privacy

For a company whose mission is ‘don’t be evil’, the privacy issues at Google are substantial. The company collects data on millions of Internet user searches, which it says delivers potential benefits for web users. However, the practice has prompted concerns from privacy protection groups about the type of information Google gathers, how much is kept and for how long, and what kinds of controls are in place to protect data from misuse. There are also simmering debates about under what conditions law enforcement agencies should have access to this data.

Google reportedly blacklisted CNET reporters for a year after the technology news service published a story containing personal information about CEO Eric Schmidt—his salary, neighborhood, hobbies and political donations—all using Google searches, to demonstrate the implications of amassing enormous amounts of information on individuals.

Privacy groups criticized Google when it reversed its previous policy to not use behavioral targeting and launched targeted ads in 2009. Privacy issues will grow more complex as the company develops new operating systems designed to move computer-based functions to a proprietary Internet "cloud." Last year, a bug in its Google Docs software allowed some users to access personal documents of other users. The data breach highlighted concerns with the adequacy of Google’s security practices, according to the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC).

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg famously stated in January 2010 that privacy may no longer be considered a social norm. However, Google faced a firestorm of consumer criticism in February 2010 when it introduced Buzz, a social networking tool, which initially connected users and their most frequent e-mail contacts to each other without providing adequate options to first remove contacts a user might not want linked. It was reportedly introduced to 176 million Gmail users by default. Privacy advocates say it could unintentionally aid stalkers, jeopardize confidential sources, or reveal proprietary relationships to third parties. Many users were angered by what they considered an invasion of privacy.

News reports of AT&T, Verizon and other phone companies sharing customer data with the National Security Agency without obtaining a warrant as required by law are alarming. There is a long history of abuse of surveillance by intelligence agencies. Public figures like Martin Luther King and John Lennon as well as countless other citizens were monitored during the Vietnam war by J. Edgar Hoover's FBI for no reason other than their opposition to government policies. Today, technology enables surveillance which is at once more intrusive and less apparent than ever before. Ensuring Americans can communicate privately in the absence of probable cause is more important than ever.

As You Sow is taking a leading role in challenging telecommunications companies on this critical freedom. We are mobilizing the investment community to press AT&T, Verizon and other telecommunications companies on alleged data sharing with the government and other routine invasion of customer privacy.

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Political Contributions

Shareholders know little about corporate gifts to political parties and groups. Under current political donation disclosure rules, companies are not required to report political donations. Only political contribution recipients must report them. This makes it difficult for shareholders to learn about or track these expenditures. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that many boards of directors conduct little serious oversight of these expenditures.

Corporate executives have substantial discretion in the political contributions they make with corporate funds. The absence of company disclosure and oversight by boards of directors gives them license to direct those funds as they please.

We believe a significant amount of money has been used to finance agendas that are antithetical to the interests of companies and their shareholders. For example, SBC Communications, Bell South, Union Pacific and Altria Group have contributed to Americans for a Republican Majority, a group which in turn funds groups like the Traditional Values Coalition who are opposed to gay rights. This agenda conflicts with the stated policies of the donor companies, who have committed to prohibiting discrimination in hiring based on sexual orientation and provide benefits to same sex partners. Some even fund special programs for gay and lesbian employees. Find out about our recent victories on this issue.

As You Sow has filed shareholder resolutions for 2006 at Clear Channel Communications, ExxonMobil and Monsanto calling for more complete reporting on their political contributions.

The Center for Political Accountability is a non-profit group that seeks to bring transparency to corporate giving and make management accountable for their company's contributions. For the last three years, the center has offered templates for shareholder proposals asking companies to disclosure their contributions and the policies that justify the giving.

Absent a system of accountability, corporate executives will be free to use company assets for political objectives that are not necessarily shared by and may be inimical to the interests of companies and their shareholders.

Some leading companies including companies like Morgan Stanley, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer have agreed to publish their corporate political contribution policies and contributions.

As part of this effort, As You Sow began its initiative with shareholder proposals in 2006 asking for political contributions disclosure from Clear Channel Communications, ExxonMobil and Monsanto.