Verizon More Trusted for Privacy than AT&T, Reports Ponemon


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When it comes to privacy whom does the public trust?  Last year, they trusted Facebook and eLoans. according to the Ponemon Institute's annual Most Trusted Companies for Privacy Study. It is the fifth consecutive year that American Express earned the Most Trusted for Privacy distinction. IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Hewlett Packard, and E-Bay rounded out the five top-rated companies. In the communications field Verizon Wireless bested the new comer to the list AT&T.

Verizon was also the highest-ranked communications company on the 2008 list of Most Trusted Companies for Privacy.

The rankings were derived from responses given by 6,627 U.S. adults that included more than 38,000 individual company ratings, 229 of which were mentioned at least twenty times. Among the brands that made the top twenty were four not listed in the previous study, including Google, Weight Watchers, Walmart, and AT&T. Of the companies listed last year, Facebook, AOL, and eLoan did not make the 2010 list.
 
"2009 was a tumultuous year for privacy, as illustrated by Facebook's drop out of the top twenty in a year when they found themselves at the center of a very public debate over the evolution of their privacy policies and settings," said Dr. Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder, Ponemon Institute. "Facebook draws a great deal of attention because they have chosen to innovate on the issue of privacy in a highly visible manner, and while they were rewarded for their efforts last year, consumers were less kind to them this year, showing just how important privacy protection is as a brand asset."

"It's an honor to be named to this list" said Kathy Zanowic, chief privacy officer for Verizon.  "Privacy is a strategic priority at Verizon because we know consumers will only use the full capabilities of our products and services if they trust that their information will remain private. We value the trust that consumers place in us, so it's very gratifying to have our privacy policy and practices recognized for giving our customers the high standard of privacy protection they deserve."

"We are honored to be recognized as a most trusted company in privacy," said Dorothy Attwood, AT&T senior vice president for public policy and chief privacy officer. "At AT&T, privacy commitments are fundamental to the way we do business every day, and we use powerful security safeguards to protect customer data."
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