Now, a group of Microsoft shareholders, led by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, is trying to force the company to ensure the messages its lobbyists are sending to lawmakers in private match the promises Microsoft has been making in public.
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"What we see is the company generally portrays itself as privacy-friendly, and yet we see that it is, in many cases, lobbying against those same principles," said Michael Connor, executive director of Open Mic, a nonprofit group that uses shareholder proposals to force corporate accountability.
Open Mic worked with shareholders on this and other proposals, one of which has already been successfully withdrawn by the filers. That proposal also called for Microsoft to conduct a human rights impact assessment related to its government contracts. Microsoft took shareholders up on that offer before the proposal even went to a vote.