Vodafone Says Governments Have Direct Access To Eavesdrop In Some Countries

[Ron Burgundy]

Vodafone , the world's second-biggest mobile phone company, said government agencies in a small number of countries in which it operates have direct access to its network, enabling them to listen in to calls. Security agencies across the world, and in particular in the United States and Britain, have faced greater scrutiny since Edward Snowden, a former contractor with the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), disclosed the extent of their surveillance to newspapers. Vodafone on Friday published a "Disclosure Report" which said that while in many of the 29 countries in which it operates, government agencies need legal notices to tap into customers' communications, there are some countries where this is not the case. Vodafone said it could not give a full picture of all the requests it gets, because it is unlawful in several countries to disclose this information.

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