Vodafone: 'governments use us to spy on citizens'
'Direct access pipes' let spooks listen in on Vodafone customers' conversations

Vodafone has confirmed the existence of secret "wires" which allow governments around the world to listen directly to conversations on its network, The Guardian reports in its ongoing series of stories on privacy and the security services.
Previous claims have suggested that some governments forced mobile phone providers to let them listen in at will, but Vodafone is the first phone company to break ranks and acknowledge that it accommodates security agencies in this way.
Confirming that "these pipes exist, the direct access model exists", Vodafone's group privacy officer Stephen Deadman said the company was making "a call to end direct access as a means of government agencies obtaining people's communication data".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Asked if the UK used direct access wires, Deadman said such a system would be illegal here because British security agencies were required to obtain a warrant each time they wanted to access communications data.
The Guardian quotes industry sources as saying the direct access "wire" or "pipe" is in some cases actually a locked room in a data centre with staff who, though employed by the telecoms firm, have state security clearance and are not allowed to discuss their operations with the rest of the company.
These wires allow security agencies to listen in on calls before or after they pass through the phone operator's data centre. Warrants are not required and the phone company has no knowledge of which calls are listened to. They can also collect data about calls, known as metadata – for example who called whom and when.
Gus Hosein, director of Privacy International, told The Guardian it was a "brave step" for Vodafone to reveal the truth, which he described as a "nightmare scenario". Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti called it "unprecedented and terrifying".
Vodafone is the first company to provide global data on government requests. In America, Verizon and AT&T have published domestic data, as have Deutsche Telekom in Germany and Telstra in Australia.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - April 20, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - Pam Bondi, retirement planning, and more
By The Week US
-
5 heavy-handed cartoons about ICE and deportation
Cartoons Artists take on international students, the Supreme Court, and more
By The Week US
-
Exploring the three great gardens of Japan
The Week Recommends Beautiful gardens are 'the stuff of Japanese landscape legends'
By The Week UK
-
China accuses NSA of Winter Games cyberattacks
speed read China alleges that the U.S. National Security Agency launched cyberattacks during the Asian Winter Games in February
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK