About one-quarter of all Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shareholder votes were cast in favor of a proposal that asks the company to report on business risks from Verizon’s controversial FCC lawsuit and other actions to oppose open Internet and network neutrality principles.
The Open MIC Blog
The Open MIC Blog
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Verizon Shareholder Proposal on Open Internet Issues Receives Support from Leading Proxy Advisor ISS
A shareholder proposal asking Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) to issue a report about the risks confronting the company because of its positions on net neutrality and open Internet issues has received support from ISS Proxy Advisory Services, the leading advisor to institutional investors.
The shareholder proposal can be voted on by Verizon shareholders either by proxy over the next two weeks, or in person at the company's annual meeting on May 2.
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In response to a shareholder proposal, Apple Inc. has amended its Board’s Audit and Finance Committee charter to include responsibility for privacy and data security risks that confront the company.
The change was praised by advocates as an important step in improving accountability for privacy and data security at the highest levels of corporate governance. “Apple is to be congratulated for recognizing the critical risks that privacy and data security can pose to a company’s financial performance,” said Michael Connor, Executive Director of Open MIC a non-profit organization that assisted investors in drafting the proposal at Apple.
In the News...
"The emerging dispute between Netflix and Comcast underscores the core weakness of the Internet economy. To reach the multitude of online services competing for your attention, you must first get through a bottleneck that is not competitive at all: high-speed broadband access."
The New York Times
Telecom watchdog groups said federal regulators should scrutinize any such plan. It could give the carriers too much power to pick winners and losers in the apps world, particularly if the terms are more favorable to a select few, they said.
Financial Times
"The choice is simple for the FCC and the U.S. Department of Justice: Stop this merger now. If it is allowed to happen it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to recreate a competitive wireless market."
Seattle Times
AT&T is lining up support for its acquisition of T-Mobile from a slew of liberal groups with no obvious interest in telecom deals — except that they’ve received big piles of AT&T’s cash.
Politico.com
AT&T is lining up support for its acquisition of T-Mobile from a slew of liberal groups with no obvious interest in telecom deals — except that they’ve received big piles of AT&T’s cash. Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/56660.html#ixzz1OzfkZFlI
Politico.com
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Want to know what’s happening on key issues of media responsibility from the perspective of investors? Check out the Open MIC blog, where we provide our take on the latest in the news.
Open Internet Proposal at Verizon Wins 24.1% of Shareholder Votes
Submitted by michael on Thu, 2013-05-02 14:34About one-quarter of all Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shareholder votes were cast in favor of a proposal that asks the company to report on business risks from Verizon’s controversial FCC lawsuit and other actions to oppose open Internet and network neutrality principles.
Verizon Shareholder Proposal on Open Internet Issues Receives Support from Leading Proxy Advisor ISS
Submitted by michael on Wed, 2013-04-17 12:36A shareholder proposal asking Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) to issue a report about the risks confronting the company because of its positions on net neutrality and open Internet issues has received support from ISS Proxy Advisory Services, the leading advisor to institutional investors.
The shareholder proposal can be voted on by Verizon shareholders either by proxy over the next two weeks, or in person at the company's annual meeting on May 2.
Apple Amends Board Committee Charter to Include Privacy and Data Security
Submitted by michael on Mon, 2013-01-14 15:30In response to a shareholder proposal, Apple Inc. has amended its Board’s Audit and Finance Committee charter to include responsibility for privacy and data security risks that confront the company.
The change was praised by advocates as an important step in improving accountability for privacy and data security at the highest levels of corporate governance. “Apple is to be congratulated for recognizing the critical risks that privacy and data security can pose to a company’s financial performance,” said Michael Connor, Executive Director of Open MIC a non-profit organization that assisted investors in drafting the proposal at Apple.
Apple Shareholders File Proposal on Privacy and Data Security
Submitted by michael on Fri, 2012-09-21 14:49Investors in Apple Inc. have filed a shareholder proposal asking the company to publish a report explaining how its Board of Directors is overseeing privacy and data security risks. “Unauthorized collection, disclosure, or misuse of personal information can cause great harm to individuals and society - including discrimination, identity theft, financial loss, loss of business or employment opportunities, humiliation, reputational damage, questionable government surveillance or physical harm,” the proposal states.
New AT&T Report on Net Neutrality Highlights ‘Failure in Corporate Citizenship,’ Say Investors
Submitted by michael on Tue, 2013-01-08 11:15A new report by AT&T Inc. summarizing the company’s positions on so-called network neutrality principles highlights a “worrisome failure in corporate citizenship” and raises significant concerns about AT&T’s long-term commitment to open Internet principles that benefit the American economy and all consumers, according to a group of AT&T investors.
Investors Ask FCC to Investigate AT&T's FaceTime Policy
Submitted by michael on Wed, 2012-09-19 14:09In a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachoswki, the investor group said they believed the new AT&T policy could violate the Commission’s Open Internet Rules. “As widely diversified institutional investors,” the group said, “we believe the open and non-discriminatory architecture of the Internet is critical to the prosperity of America’s economy and society. We endorse ‘network neutrality’ principles that aim to ensure equal access and non-discriminatory treatment for all content.”
Shareholder Proposal on Network Neutrality Gains Momentum in Vote at Verizon
Submitted by michael on Wed, 2012-05-09 15:52A shareholder proposal calling upon Verizon Communications Inc. to publicly commit to network neutrality principles on its wireless networks gained significant momentum at the company’s annual meeting as shareholders supported the proposal by an even larger margin than their counterparts at AT&T did in a similar recent vote. By winning more than 3 percent of the vote of shareholders at both AT&T and Verizon, the proposals reached an important qualifying threshold set by the SEC for inclusion in next year’s proxy voting at both companies.
Shareholder Vote on Network Neutrality Surpasses Critical Threshold at AT&T Meeting
Submitted by michael on Fri, 2012-04-27 13:38The proposal, which was voted on for the first time this year, attracted at least 5.9% of the votes cast in this year’s proxy vote at AT&T, according to preliminary results released by the company. That percentage could climb higher in the final tabulation. By garnering support from more than 3 percent of voting shareholders, net neutrality will be assured a continued place on next year’s ballot. Based on the company’s recent share price, the results mean that investors holding stock worth more than $11.4 billion voted in favor of the resolution.
SEC Permits First-Ever Net Neutrality Vote at AT&T, Verizon and Sprint
Submitted by michael on Tue, 2012-02-14 18:34Investors in AT&T, Verizon and Sprint will finally have an opportunity to vote on shareholder proposals which call on the companies to commit to network neutrality principles that would maintain open access to the Internet on wireless networks. The proposals, which will be considered at the companies’ upcoming annual meetings, will proceed as the result of a Securities and Exchange Commission staff ruling which denied “no-action” requests by AT&T, Verizon and Sprint.
Investors to AT&T: Let Shareholders Vote on Open, Free Internet Access for All
Submitted by michael on Wed, 2011-10-26 14:34Shareholders of AT&T Inc. have filed a proposal calling for the company “to publicly commit to operate its wireless broadband network consistent with network neutrality principles” that would maintain open access to the Internet on wireless networks.
The filing comes only weeks before implementation of new Federal Communications Commission rules on network neutrality that provide a broad exemption for wireless broadband networks – the fastest growing segment of the Internet.