Verizon Ethics has established several confidential reporting mechanisms provided by Verizon Corporate Resources LLC (“Verizon”), a company located in the United States. Verizon is responsible for the processing of all personal data provided to Verizon Ethics and, where appropriate, is the controller.

When to Contact Verizon Ethics

Verizon Ethics allows people to ask questions and report suspected violations of company policy and applicable laws and regulations.  The information you provide about yourself, your colleagues, or any aspect of the company’s operations may result in decisions that affect others. Therefore, you should only provide information that, to the best of your knowledge, is correct and factual. Verizon has a strict non-retaliation policy for any report made in good faith, even if it later turns out to be incorrect. However, knowingly providing false or misleading information may result in consequences including disciplinary proceedings up to and including termination of employment.

Sensitive Personal Data

Please only provide sensitive data like racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, data concerning health or data concerning a person's sex life or sexual orientation, about yourself or another person, if this information constitutes a key element of your report. If you provide such sensitive data, Verizon will use it as necessary to investigate the matter you report, which is in the public interest and in accordance with its legal obligation to provide a confidential reporting mechanism. 

Why and How We Use Personal Data About You

Verizon Ethics invites you to submit your name and contact details, the name and title of all individuals you are reporting, and a description of the suspected violation, including all relevant facts and details. If you do not wish to provide us with your name you may still report your concern.

When submitting a report online, all fields are optional. Similarly, when submitting a report by phone, all questions are optional. When you make a report, Verizon has a legitimate interest to use information you provide, including personal data, so that your report can be handled and investigated.  If the law requires your consent in order for Verizon to use the personal data, by providing Verizon with the information you consent to the processing of personal data about you as necessary to assess your submission and conduct any investigation as may be required. Your cooperation and assistance in such an investigation may be necessary. If an investigation indicates that a violation of company policy or applicable laws or regulations has occurred, Verizon will take such action as it determines appropriate under the circumstances.

Where Personal Data About is Stored

The information you provide will be stored on servers hosted by third parties who may be located outside your jurisdiction.  Verizon has policies and procedures in place to help ensure that such third parties are able to protect personal information up to the levels required by applicable laws, including when personal information is transferred to another country, and will have appropriate legally binding privacy terms in place with such third parties. 

Access to personal data will be limited to those people who need access in order to review and investigate your report. These individuals may include appropriate Verizon employees in the Legal, Compliance or Human Resources departments, personnel in the company’s Finance, IT and Audit functions, external Verizon advisors retained to assist in investigating the report, and technical staff at relevant third party providers. Those individuals may be located outside your jurisdiction, for example in the United States, India, the United Kingdom, or the EU.

Verizon has safeguards in place in accordance with applicable law to help ensure that personal data about you will, at all times and in all locations, be adequately protected to the standards required by applicable data protection laws. International data transfers within the Verizon family of companies are consistent with the Verizon Binding Corporate Rules and transfers to any third party outside the Verizon group will be made under a legally binding contract which includes adequate protection for personal data.

How Long Verizon Will Keep Personal Data

Any information you submit that is not needed to answer your question or for any investigation will be deleted or archived in accordance with Verizon’s Records Management Policy. Once we have responded to your question or completed any investigation, all personally identifiable data will be deleted, redacted, or archived in accordance with applicable law and Verizon policy. Verizon will take appropriate technical, organizational, and legal steps to secure the information you provide.

Privacy Rights

In certain countries you may be permitted by law to withdraw your consent.  You may also access personal data about you or request that Verizon erase or restrict the processing of personal data about you. Contact us via this link with any questions: https://www.verizon.com/about/privacy/data-subject-rights. You may also have the right to complain to your data protection regulator. 

If you are a California resident, you may find more information about your privacy rights on Inside Verizon. 

For more information, please review the Verizon privacy policy that is relevant to you.

Data Protection Officer

Not all Verizon business groups are legally required to appoint a Data Protection Officer. In order to obtain more information or to contact the Data Protection Officer for Verizon Connect, please contact us via this link: https://www.verizon.com/about/privacy/data-subject-rights.