[andyj1967]

Vodafone has said that a small number of governments have direct access to communications flowing over its networks.

Most countries Vodafone operates in need a warrant to intercept communications, the firm said.

However, in some countries police have a direct link to customer's phone calls and web communications.

Surveillance by governments has been in the public eye since revelations by US whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Vodafone said it values customer privacy, but it must comply with laws "designed to protect national security and public safety".

In most of the 29 countries where Vodafone has major operations, including the UK, law enforcement and intelligence agencies must have a warrant to listen to phone calls or look at text messages, emails or web chats.

The firm said it could not specify the countries that have a direct line into its networks, because those countries have laws prohibiting disclosure of surveillance methods.

In six out of the 29 countries, governments have a permanent link to monitor communications, the BBC understands.

In its first-ever transparency report, Vodafone said that in a small number of countries, it "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".

Human rights campaign organisation Liberty called the government powers "terrifying".

Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty, said: "For governments to access phone calls at the flick of a switch is unprecedented and terrifying.

"The defeated Snoopers' Charter tried to take us down this path, but Snowden revealed the internet was already treated as fair game. Bluster that all is well is wearing pretty thin - our analogue laws need a digital overhaul."

BBC News - Vodafone reveals direct government wiretaps

Posted via CB10

[Sith_Apprentice]

They, like every other company, have to comply with lawful access if they want to operate in those nations. If that is the law there, and they want a presence, they have no choice. Very unfortunate, but not surprising, and certainly not only limited to Vodafone. Many people had their world view shattered by the Snowden leaks, but that does not mean it didnt happen before, and does not continue to happen now.

[quen-quen]

This is really not new to me! All networks does that in different places according to governments regulations. Even BlackBerry have setup servers for some networks in India to keep track of some of their comunications. If you can't fight the Governments, you might join then! Simple as that!

[Banco]

They, like every other company, have to comply with lawful access if they want to operate in those nations. If that is the law there, and they want a presence, they have no choice. Very unfortunate, but not surprising, and certainly not only limited to Vodafone. Many people had their world view shattered by the Snowden leaks, but that does not mean it didnt happen before, and does not continue to happen now.

I don't think it's a complaint about what choice they have, it's that they have decided to highlight what they must do within their report. Some of the analysis about this statement has been of the nature of what looks clearly like a briefing from Vodafone that they're fed up with being portrayed as the bad guys and wanted to make it clear the circumstances under which they have to operate. One of the worst parts is that in many countries they aren't even allowed to mention the means and circumstances under which communications are snooped upon, so by doing it as a general report, they can highlight those countries by omission - it's quite a clever tactic.