Via The Star
Vodafone releases massive transparency report on government spying
European telecom Vodafone reveals that some countries have direct access to their networks, can listen in directly to customers’ calls.
Vodafone released a transparency report Friday in light of the controversy over releasing data to governments.
By: Alex Boutilier Staff Reporter
OTTAWA–Telecom giant Vodafone has become the latest in a growing list of companies bowing to public pressure to reveal how often government authorities request citizens’ personal details, releasing a massive transparency report on Friday.
Vodafone, which does not operate in North America, revealed that authorities in 29 countries requested their customers data hundreds of thousands of times in 2013. Rogers Communications, the only major Canadian telecom to release a transparency report, reported almost 175,000 requests that year.
Unlike warrantless access reported in Canada, however, Vodafone admitted that a small number of countries require direct access to their network — allowing government authorities to spy of their citizens’ communications directly.
The report notes Vodafone must comply with the domestic laws that allow that kind of snooping, and calls on governments around the world to be more transparent about the interception of their citizens’ personal data.
“In our view, it is governments — not communications operators — who hold the primary duty to provide greater transparency on the number of agency and authority demands issued to operators,” the report states.
Canadian authorities have been hesitant to commit to that level of transparency. The federal Conservatives, responding to revelations that nine telecom and internet companies were asked 1.2 million times for customers’ personal information in 2011, have repeated that authorities request warrants when necessary, and companies operate within privacy laws.
Vodafone does not operate in Canada, but it does have carriers in the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand — members, along with the Canada and the United States, of the so-called “Five Eyes” alliance. The cache of documents released by U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden show close cooperation between those member states on matters of national security and electronic spying.
“Given this is going on in Europe and Asia . . . I’m very concerned that it might be happening (in Canada),” said Sukanya Pillay, the executive director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. “I think it’s up to the telecom companies here to confirm either way, that it’s happening or it’s not happening. I think Canadians would want to know.”
On Thursday, Rogers Communications became the first major Canadian telecom company to release a transparency report. It revealed that Rogers was asked almost 175,000 times for customers’ information in 2013, but the company could not say how often authorities’ requests were granted.
Ken Engelhart, Rogers’ vice president of regulatory affairs, told the Star on Thursday that no authorities have direct access to their network.
On Wednesday, internet and landline provider TekSavvy reported 52 requests from authorities in 2012 and 2013 combined. Privacy experts expect more telecom companies to follow with their own transparency reports soon.
