--- description: Vodafone has announced that numerous government agencies have open access to the conversations of its customers across the globe. title: Telecom Company Discloses Massive, International Surveillance Program image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92fccc9cb9f25942/6986968006f2c1c5bb32f5ca/vodaphone2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A 'Nightmare Scenario:' Vodafone Reveals Huge Global Snooping Program by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 6, 2014 9:28 AM CUT  A Vodafone sign on May 30, 2006. A Vodafone sign on May 30, 2006.AP by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 6, 2014 9:28 AM CUT Just a day after the first anniversary of Edward Snowden’s watershed surveillance leaks, the world’s [second-largest](http://www.mobileworldlive.com/top-20-global-mobile-operator-groups-by-connections-and-revenue-q1-2013 "undefined") mobile phone company has announced that numerous government agencies have direct and open access to the conversations of its 381 million customers across the globe. Privacy advocates are calling it a “nightmare scenario.” [_The Guardian_ reported on Friday](http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/jun/06/vodafone-reveals-secret-wires-allowing-state-surveillance?CMP=twt%5Fgu "undefined") that Vodafone, which has operations in 29 countries, is to release a document describing “secret wires” that allow governments to monitor and record phone calls, text messages, and Internet data use. The wires, Vodafone says, are “widely used” by a number of agencies. Stephen Deadman, Vodafone’s group privacy officer, told the _Guardian_ that “These pipes exist, the direct access model exists.” The 40,000 word document, entitled _Law Enforcement Disclosure Report_, will be released publicly on Friday. U.K. civil liberties advocate Shami Chakrabarti said to the _Guardian_ that the fact that governments were able to “access phone calls at the flick of a switch” created a situation that was “unprecedented and terrifying.” Vodafone said it intends to call for an end to “direct access to an operator’s communications infrastructure without a lawful mandate.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2836971/vodafone-surveillance-report/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2836971/vodafone-surveillance-report/"},"headline":"A 'Nightmare Scenario:' Vodafone Reveals Huge Global Snooping Program","datePublished":"2014-06-06T09:28:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:02:25.153Z","description":"If you're a Vodafone customer, chances are your government has the tools to listen in directly","url":"https://time.com/2836971/vodafone-surveillance-report/","keywords":["Tech","Telecommunications","Surveillance","Security","Spying","Snowden"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92fccc9cb9f25942/6986968006f2c1c5bb32f5ca/vodaphone2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nash Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92fccc9cb9f25942/6986968006f2c1c5bb32f5ca/vodaphone2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A Vodafone sign on May 30, 2006.","caption":"A Vodafone sign on May 30, 2006.","creditText":"AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2836971/vodafone-surveillance-report/","name":"A 'Nightmare Scenario:' Vodafone Reveals Huge Global Snooping Program"}}]}] ```