Telecom companies that give access to the U.K.’s...
Telecom companies that give access to the U.K.’s spy agency face legal action for unlawful mass surveillance, said Privacy International on Thursday. Previous reports said Britain’s spy system, Tempora, tapped directly into undersea fiber cables to collect Internet traffic. The…
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identity of the companies involved wasn’t known until a German newspaper Aug. 2 published the names, PI said. The telcos are BT, Verizon Business, Vodafone Cable, Level 3, Level 3’s Global Crossing, Viatel and Interoute, it said. The privacy group sent a “pre-action” letter to the cable providers seeking information on their relationship with the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). Details PI wants include: (1) Company policies for assessing the lawfulness of government surveillance requests. (2) Any interception requests they have received from authorities. (3) Any steps taken to oppose or resist such orders. (4) Any money they've received for cooperating with governments. Tempora wouldn’t have been possible without the complicity of the undersea cable providers, said PI Head of Research Eric King. They are “the last line of defence for customers against the government’s intrusion into our private lives,” he said in a news release. Telecom providers have an obligation under the European Convention on Human Rights to take reasonable steps to safeguard customers’ privacy, PI said. It filed a claim in July in the U.K. Investigatory Powers Tribunal challenging Tempora and GCHQ’s access to the U.S. surveillance program called Prism. Unless the companies come up with a satisfactory response, PI will add them to its claim, it said. “Questions relating to national security are for governments, not telecommunications providers,” a BT spokeswoman said. “Having said that, we can reassure customers that we comply with the law wherever we operate and do not disclose customer data in any jurisdiction unless legally required to do so."