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".
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.
-
Bondi stonewalls on Epstein, Comey in Senate face-offSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi denied charges of using the Justice Department in service of Trump’s personal vendettas
-
October 8 editorial cartoonsCartoons Wednesday’s political cartoons include evidence* of what causes autism, Donald Trump's enemy within and a CBS sacrifice
-
Frauds: ‘fantastically stylish’ crime heist caper is a ‘triumph’The Week Recommends Suranne Jones and Jodie Whittaker play a pair of ex-cons planning one last job
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
China accuses NSA of Winter Games cyberattacksspeed read China alleges that the U.S. National Security Agency launched cyberattacks during the Asian Winter Games in February
