Verizon Opposes Carrier Mandate on Holding NSA Phone Records

Verizon Communications Inc. said U.S. phone companies shouldn’t be required to change the format or amount of time they hold phone records under President Barack Obama’s plan to alter a spy program.

Obama is seeking legislation that would direct Verizon, AT&T Inc. and other carriers to search their records and provide results in a timely and technologically compatible format to the government. The National Security Agency currently collects and holds the records, which include numbers dialed and call durations without content of conversations.