NEW YORK (Reuters)
- Shareholders of Google Inc will propose that the Web search company
take steps to ensure freedom of Internet access and establish a review
of its operations' effect on human rights, according to a regulatory
filing on Tuesday.
In one proposal expected to be submitted at the company's 2008
annual meeting on May 8, shareholders will ask Google to commit to
certain standards, including a pledge not to engage in proactive
censorship or host user data in countries that restrict political
speech.
The proposal will be raised by the New York City comptroller's
office, which oversees the New York City Employees Retirement System as
well as retirement funds for city teachers, police and firefighters,
Google said in its proxy filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission.
A second proposal put forward by Harrington Investments requests
that the company create a board committee on human rights to review the
implications of its policies on a worldwide basis.
Google said its board recommends that investors vote against both proposals.
The Web search leader will ask investors to keep its slate of 10 directors in office for another year.
(Reporting by Michele Gershberg, editing by Richard Chang)
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