AT&T Will Publish 'Transparency Report' Detailing Government Surveillance Agencies' Requests for Customers' Information

AT&T announced on Friday that it would publish a "transparency report" detailing requests for information from federal government agencies.

The telecommunications company is slated to join such rival corporations as Verizon and Google in releasing various inquiries submitted by law enforcement agencies, whose surveillance programs recently have come under serious scrutiny.

AT&T wrote in a statement obtained by the Agence France Presse that it would publicize a mid-year report in 2014 providing facts "to the extent permitted by laws and regulations."

The roundup is expected to contain the exact number of all requests submitted by various government agencies concerning criminal cases, court orders, warrants and subpoenas.

AT&T stated that "any disclosures regarding classified information should come from the government, which is in the best position to determine what can be lawfully disclosed and would or would not harm national security," adding that "protecting our customers' information and privacy is paramount."

According to the telecom company, all requests submitted by various government entities are complied with in a timely manner.

"We work hard to make sure that the requests or orders are valid and that our response to them is lawful," AT&T wrote. "We've challenged court orders, subpoenas and other requests from local, state and federal governmental entities - and will continue to do so, if we believe they are unlawful. We do not allow any government agency to connect directly to our network to gather, review or retrieve our customers' information."

The statement comes a little over one month after news that the CIA reportedly paid AT&T at least $10 million a year to hand over customers' phone records surfaced.

According to a November investigation conducted by the New York Times, the requests were part of multiple international counter-terrorism probes. The arrangement allowed the CIA to ask AT&T for particular phone numbers for suspected overseas terrorists.