Verisk Analytics Inc: Data Privacy
WHEREAS: Following the revocation of the constitutional right to an abortion in June 2022, policymakers and legislators became concerned by the use of personal digital data for the enforcement of state laws that ban or limit abortion access. Congress is currently considering bills that would increase privacy protections for personal reproductive health information. California requires out-of-state law enforcement seeking personal data from California corporations to attest that the investigation does not involve abortion, which is lawful in California.[1]
Law enforcement frequently relies on digital consumer data. While Verisk does not publicly report figures on its compliance with law enforcement requests, Alphabet and Meta alone collectively received around 110,000 requests in the second half of 2021, and each complied with about 80% of those requests.[2] In 2022, Meta satisfied a Nebraska police warrant for private Facebook messages from a woman facing felony charges for allegedly helping her daughter terminate a pregnancy,[3] to significant negative press.
Verisk collects sensitive personal information such as geolocation data, internet activity, and financial information. There is reason for concern that such data will be accessed without consumer consent by states that criminalize abortion. Indeed, Verisk’s privacy policies allow the Company to disclose personal consumer information if “required or permitted to do so by law or legal process, for example due to . . . a request from a law enforcement agency.” However, law enforcement requests may seek evidence of consumer acts that are inappropriate for Verisk to share – for example, evidence of a customer’s financial activities that were legal in the state where they occurred, such as purchasing abortifacients.
It is believed that Verisk is complying with “deletion rights'' under California law, wherein savvy consumers may request deletion of collected personal data Verisk is not legally required to retain. Yet, for all other consumers, Verisk remains subject to abortion-related law enforcement requests for the consumer data it collects and stores, which creates significant reputational, financial, and legal risks.
BE IT RESOLVED: Shareholders request that our Board issue a public report detailing any known and potential risks and costs to the Company of fulfilling information requests regarding Verisk customers for the enforcement of state laws criminalizing abortion access, and setting forth any strategies beyond legal compliance that the Company may deploy to minimize or mitigate these risks. The report should be produced at reasonable expense, exclude proprietary or legally privileged information, and be published within one year of the annual meeting.
SUPPORTING STATEMENT: Shareholders recommend, at board and management discretion, that input from reproductive rights and civil liberties organizations be solicited and reflected in the report, and that the report contain:
(1) An assessment of implementing a data privacy policy wherein consumers nationwide would have “deletion rights;” and
(2) An evaluation of the benefits of notifying consumers about law enforcement information requests regarding their data prior to, and with sufficient time for consumer response before, complying with any such request.
[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/29/california-law-protects-digital-info-from-use-in-abortion-investigations.html#:~:text=sponsored%20the%20legislation.-,AB%201242%20requires%20out%2Dof%2Dstate%20law%20enforcement%20agencies%20seeking,is%20legal%20under%20California%20law
[2] https://transparencyreport.google.com/user-data/overview?hl=en; https://transparency.fb.com/data/government-data-requests/country/us/
[3] https://www.npr.org/2022/08/12/1117092169/nebraska-cops-used-facebook-messages-to-investigate-an-alleged-illegal-abortion
Resolution Details
Company: Verisk Analytics Inc
Lead Filers:
As You Sow
Year: 2023
Filing Date:
December 2022
Initiative(s): Sexual and Reproductive Health
Status: Resolution Withdrawn, Agreement Reached