Phone-tapping scandal in Greece costs Vodafone new €19m fine

Vodafone’s Greek unit has been fined €19.1 million (£13.3 million) for its alleged part in a wire-tapping scandal that involved more than 100 victims, including the country’s Prime Minister. The fine is the second imposed over the eavesdropping scandal that has rocked the country and become known as the Greek Watergate.

John Carr in Athens and Elizabeth Judge
The Government announced in February 2006 that up to 100 people, including Costas Karamanlis, the Prime Minister, his wife, Natasha, and top security and government officials had had their phones tapped during the 2004 Olympics in Athens and for nearly a year afterwards.
The eavesdropping was conducted by “an unknown individual or individuals who used high technology,” the Government said. Those involved have yet to be found.
According to government officials, spy software was found in Vodafone’s facilities during a routine check that was carried out after a series of complaints about missing text messages.
The head of Vodafone Greece told the Government that as soon as it discovered the tapping software, it removed it and notified the authorities.
However, the shutdown of the equipment prompted strong criticism of Vodafone because it had prevented the authorities from tracing the taps.
The mobile group was ordered to pay €76 million in fines by a Greek privacy watchdog last December for its alleged role in the scandal. The fine was levied for a “number of infringements attributed to the company”. The watchdog accused the group of failing to take adequate measures to protect its network and of not informing subscribers that their phones were being tapped.
The mobile giant paid the fine but an appeal against the decision is scheduled for April. The latest fine was issued by EETT, the national telecommunications regulator, for alleged breach of privacy rules.
A spokesman for Vodafone said yesterday that it was considering whether to appeal against the new fine.
Vodafone, its software supplier, Ericsson, and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff have all been called to testify before a parliamentary committee.
The case has proved a huge embarrassment for Vodafone. It has denied any wrongdoing and boasted about its awareness of customer confidentiality in advertisements. George Koronias, head of Vodafone Greece, has denied that the group had the technical know-how to install spy software.
Greece’s mobile market has been one of Europe’s most competitive, with three companies claiming 95 per cent of a market that long ago surpassed saturation.

01.11.2007