Media reports on mass surveillance by telcos “have...
Media reports on mass surveillance by telcos “have demonstrated a misunderstanding of the basic facts of European, German and UK legislation and of the legal obligations set out within every telecommunications operator’s licence,” said Vodafone UK in a written statement…
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Friday. It responded to Privacy International’s (PI) threat of legal action against providers that have allowed the U.K.’s Government Communications Headquarters and U.S. spy program Prism to tap into undersea fiber cables (CD Aug 9 p10). Cables carrying international communications traffic pass through multiple jurisdictions, Vodafone said. Within the EU, the legal protections and obligations regarding those communications are defined under relevant EU law as well as the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), it said. Vodafone complies with the laws of all its countries of operation, including, in the case of its European businesses, the EU privacy and data retention directives, it said. Its U.K. branch complies with national measures derived from the EU directives and subject to the ECHR, it said. In all countries, operators must meet the legal obligations set out in their licenses by national governments, said the company. “Whilst Vodafone must comply with those obligations (as must all operators), we do not disclose any customer data in any jurisdiction unless legally required to do so.” Questions on national security are a matter for governments, not telecom operators, it said. Verizon Business, also named, declined to comment on PI’s statement.