[bestbits] Vodafone accused of secretly sharing data with British agency

[Guru गुरु]

In the light of the large scale complicity of transnational IT 
corporates in colluding with their political masters (see today's news 
item from the same newspaper which reported the Google market 
malpractice probe yesterday),  how do we expect  any meaningful progress 
in global public policy making to protect and promote public interest in 
Internet Governance through the 'multi-stakeholderism' model, wherein 
these economic powerhouses can stall/stalemate any policy proposals that 
affect their economic interests / political interests of their masters?

I look forward to hear from those who think 'equal footing' for 
corporates in the public policy making processes is a good idea. For me 
the 8 years of the IGF is a clear proof that anything in the public 
interest that affects the political/economic interests of these groups 
can make little or no progress adopting a multi-stakeholder model... And 
such a stalemate has terrible costs for some others, over these 8 years, 
the net has become even much more a symbol of concentration of power...

imho, progress can come when people/institutions/networks believing in 
the idea of a public interest come together to resist these powerful 
forces. and I see these comprising to a good extent,  of many friends 
and sympathisers from the developed countries,working with developing 
country governments (many of who are practising democracies), academia 
and civil society institutions/networks...

regards,
Guru

Vodafone accused of secretly sharing data with British agency
New Delhi, Mar 10, 2014, (PTI)

Major telecom player Vodafone has been accused by the Union Home 
Ministry of secretly sharing subscriber data with a British intelligence 
and security organisation, a charge denied by the company.

According to documents of the Internal Security Division of the Home 
Ministry, Vodafone is alleged to have given the UK-based Government 
Communication Headquarters (GCHQ) "secret unlimited access to their 
network of under sea cables, which carry much of world's phone calls and 
Internet traffic". "GCHQ's mass tapping operations has been built up 
over the past five years by attaching intercept probes to the 
transatlantic cables where they land on British shores," the home 
ministry documents claimed. "Intercept partners are paid for logistical 
assistance," it said....

for more, read 
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/391064/voda-accused-secretly-sharing-data.html