Vodafone has become the first telecoms company to voluntarily reveal the scope of government snooping on mobile phone networks. It comes at a time when spy agencies face greater scrutiny for their surveillance practices.
One of the world's largest cellphone companies, Vodafone, has painted the clearest picture to date of the lengths governments go to snoop on he mobile phone communications of their citizens, saying authorities in some countries have direct wiretaps into its networks.
In the company's "Disclosure Report," released on Friday, Vodafone outlined the scope of government surveillance in 29 European, African and Asian countries
Most explicit was the disclosure that a "small number of countries" demand unfettered access to an operator's network without securing a arrant.
"It is a reminder that as chilling as the NSA's capabilities are, there are many countries around the world that are less restrained in the surveillance they conduct," said Julian Sanchez, a senior fellow and privacy expert at the Cato Institute in Washington D.C.
"In those countries, Vodafone will not receive any form of demand for lawful interception access as the relevant agencies and authorities already have permanent access to customer communications via their own direct link," the report said.
Vodafone, which has 400 million customers worldwide, did not list the countries by name for legal reasons. But it did say it was prohibited by law to disclose any information about wiretapping in Albania, Egypt, Hungary, India, Malta, Qatar, Romania, South Africa and Turkey.
Read moreVodafone discloses direct government wiretaps into its network | Business | DW.DE | 06.06.2014
