Google, Yahoo urged to shield privacy rights

Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. should adopt policies to protect privacy and human rights in countries with authoritarian governments, New York City’s comptroller said Tuesday.

William C. Thompson plans to urge the Internet companies to adopt such rules at their annual meetings over the next two months.

The city’s pension funds own about $124 million of Yahoo shares and $338 million in shares of Google, Thompson said in a statement.

Google and Yahoo have faced criticism over how they operate in countries such as China, and Yahoo was recently sued by a Chinese woman who claims information provided by Yahoo led to the arrest and imprisonment of her husband, a democracy activist.

Thompson’s proposal recommends that the companies not store user information in certain countries and that they use all legal means to resist demands for censorship.

Both companies advised shareholders to vote against the proposal.