The Guardian reports that one of the world’s biggest mobile phone organizations, Vodafone, has revealed the existence of “secret wires that allow government agencies to listen to all conversations on its networks, saying they are widely used in some of the 29 countries in which it operates in Europe and beyond.” The revelation comes as Vodafone also released its first-ever Law Enforcement Disclosure Report. Vodafone said governments have directly connected wires to its network to not only listen to conversations but also to track user location. Vodafone Chief Privacy Officer Stephen Deadman said, “We are making the call to end direct access as a means of government agencies obtaining people’s communication data,” adding, “Vodafone is calling for all direct-access pipes to be disconnected, and for the laws that make them legal to be amended.”
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