WASHINGTON (AP) — AT&T Inc. says it will publish reports on the number of requests for customer information it receives from law enforcement agencies, the latest move in the telecommunications industry toward fuller disclosure amid debate over government surveillance programs.
The announcement Friday by the nation’s largest telecom company came a day after rival Verizon Communications Inc. said it will make public the legal demands it has received.
AT&T says it will publish a report twice a year online. The first one, covering requests received this year, will be out early next year.
The controversy has deepened over data-gathering by the National Security Agency. The NSA’s collection of hundreds of millions of Americans’ phone records under secret court order was revealed in June in documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
Source: Associated Press
