T-Mobile US said majority of the requests came from law enforcement and included phone conversations, text messages and voicemails
T-Mobile US said last year it received nearly 352,000 requests for customer and network information, with a vast majority coming from federal, state or local law enforcement agencies. The requests were a 10.8% increase from the previous year and highlight the increased attention being paid to wireless communications by law enforcement agencies.
The numbers come from the release of T-Mobile US’ first “transparency report,” which details the types of requests and how the carrier said it responded to those requests. The carrier said it provides such information only when legally “permitted or required to do so.”
“We take very seriously the privacy of our customers’ information and our obligation to protect it,” the carrier noted. “When we receive a request from law enforcement for customer information we confirm that the request is valid and that our response complies with the law and our own policies. When a lawful request for customer information is presented to us we are required to comply. We discuss the types of law enforcement requests we receive below.”
T-Mobile US said the requests included subscriber information, including names and addresses; historical call detail information; emergency information, including location; real-time call detail information; historical cell site location information; real-time audio, which included phone conversations; real-time content, including the content of text messages; and stored content, including saved voicemail messages. The requirements needed to obtain the information included subpoenas, court orders and warrants.
The carrier noted that less than 4% of the requests were tied to civil matters like insurance claims, divorce and personal injury, with the remainder coming law enforcement. Of those, most were subpoena requests connected with civil and criminal activity, while 8 came from foreign governments, including Germany, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong and Colombia.
T-Mobile US also reported that it received approximately 317,000 requests in 2013, a 7% increase from 2012.
Verizon Communications said last year it received more than 287,000 requests for customer information from law enforcement agencies as part of its newly established Transparency Report. Those requests were down from the 321,545 requests received in 2013.
The federal government’s authority to collect phone data tied to the Patriot Act recently lapsed, but agencies retain the ability to use court-authorized wiretaps.
In late 2005, the New York Times reported that the federal government increased the number of wiretap requests following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The federal government in 2008 provided telecom operators with immunity from prosecution for lawsuits related to privacy invasion claims.
Sprint earlier this year was docked $15.5 million by the federal government for overcharging law enforcement agencies to carry out court-ordered wiretaps, pen registers and trap devices. The fine followed a joint investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Justice, which found that between 2007 and 2010, “Sprint improperly included in its intercept charges the costs of making certain upgrades to its system.”
AT&T’s Cricket division late last year agreed to pay $2.1 million over allegations that it overcharged federal law enforcement agencies to carry out wiretaps and pen registers of its customers. The government claimed that between 2007 and 2010, Cricket, before it was acquired by AT&T, overcharged federal law enforcement agencies for performing court-ordered wiretaps and pen registers.
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