Vodafone says no illegal surveillance in Fiji

Transcript

Vodafone Fiji says a new report by its parent company shows it is not conducting any illegal surveillance.

The global telecommunications company says the report shows how it complies with surveillance laws in the 29 countries in which it operates, including Fiji.

Vodafone Fiji's Managing Director Aslam Khan told Christopher Gilbert the 760 cases listed in the report under Vodafone Fiji relate to call records provided to the police.

ASLAM KHAN: And as far as I know no party in Fiji, including Vodafone, actually has the capability to listen and record emails, phone conversations or anything for that matter. The only thing we actually do provide on production of search warrant is the Call Detail Recording, we call CDRs, which are date, time, number called, duration, and call type which is 'call' or 'text'. That's all.

CHRISTOPHER GILBERT: So when you say you don't have the capability to do anything else, what does that mean?

AK: It means we don't have the facility. You've got to have the additional hardware and software to allow external access via, normally, a local enforcement agency. So they'll have access to tracking emails and listening to conversations, stuff like that. You've got to have that facility. We don't have that.

CG: OK so since it's not in the scope of the law to do that, that equipment was never installed?

AK: Never.

CG: And there are 760 cases..

AK: ... search warrants, yeah. Search warrants issued to us by the police. Mainly by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and a few of them from the Fiji anti-corruption bodies. But we only release information on production of a search warrant. We do not provide any information if we do not get a search warrant.

CG: What is the process of that, are you approached the government or police?

AK: The CID basically comes to us with a search warrant and says 'this is a number, we want to record the data information of this particular number', and then the duration, whether for one month or whatever period they want it for.

CG: Who or what organisation does that information then go to?

AK: Oh it goes back to the Police again. So we have a liaison officer with the CID who we give it back to. And there's one liaison officer, we only deal with one assigned liaison officer, no one else.

CG: Okay so have you had any direct requests from the Fijian Government for information on any of your customers?

AK: Never.

CG: The Telecommunications Promulgation 2008 says government agencies and law enforcement authorities may possess the legal powers to compel companies such as yourself to disclose metadata, and also to disclose the personal information of the customers that you hold, and you're saying that you ...

AK: They have never. They have never put in the request. I know it's in the decree but they have never come to us. Everything has been only through the police department. They've never come to us and asked us for this information or that information.

CG: The law also says that the government cannot do any tapping or surveillance of this kind without going through a company such as yourself, that's right isn't it?

AK: That's right yes. They have to go through us to do it.

CG: Do you then have any comment to make on a claim made to us by the former Fijian colonel Ratu Tevita Mara who said in 2011, to one of our reporters, that he had seen Frank Bainimarama reading the transcripts of telephone conversations?

AK: That never came from us, I can tell you that. We haven't provided a transcript at all. We don't even have the facility, how could I provide a transcript?

CG: Have you ever received any requests from external forces, maybe CIA, Interpol, any other organisations like that? Have they approached Vodafone Fiji asking for any kind of information, metadata or otherwise?

AK: No, none. They don't need us Chris. They can sniff without us.