The United States and Britain both came in for global scrutiny and criticism after Edward Snowden, a former contractor with the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), disclosed their vast phone, email and internet surveillance operations.
But Vodafone (VOD.L), which has 400 million customers in countries across Europe, Africa and Asia, said in its “Disclosure Report” on Friday that countries in its reach are using similar practices.
While most governments needed legal notices to tap into customers’ communications, there were six countries where that was not the case, it said.
“In a small number of countries the law dictates that specific agencies and authorities must have direct access to an operator’s network, bypassing any form of operational control over lawful interception on the part of the operator,” Vodafone said.