{"id":77440,"date":"2015-07-07T22:33:05","date_gmt":"2015-07-08T02:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rbach.net\/blog\/index.php\/"},"modified":"2021-08-14T15:51:18","modified_gmt":"2021-08-14T19:51:18","slug":"t-mobile-ordered-to-turn-over-most-customer-info","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/t-mobile-ordered-to-turn-over-most-customer-info\/","title":{"rendered":"T-Mobile Ordered to Turn Over Most Customer Info"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>T-M<a href=\"https:\/\/www.siliconinvestor.com\/subject.aspx?subjectid=22766\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-105814 size-thumbnail\" title=\"T-Mobile Ordered to Turn Over Most Customer Info\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rbach.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/earthheadphones.jpg?resize=75%2C75&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"T-Mobile Ordered to Turn Over Most Customer Info\" width=\"75\" height=\"75\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rbach.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/earthheadphones.jpg?resize=75%2C75&amp;ssl=1 75w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rbach.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/earthheadphones.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rbach.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/earthheadphones.jpg?w=400&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 75px) 100vw, 75px\" \/><\/a>obile received the most government requests for <strong>subscriber data<\/strong> in 2014 according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnet.com\/news\/t-mobiles-transparency-report-reveals-352000-customer-data-requests\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">report<\/a> from <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnet.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CNET<\/a><\/em>. U.S. governments made nearly 351,940 requests for data from\u00a0<strong><a title=\"T-Mobile\" href=\"http:\/\/www.t-mobile.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">T-Mobile<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tradingview.com\/symbols\/NASDAQ-TMUS\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">TMUS<\/a>) in 2014. The author, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnet.com\/profiles\/rogercheng24\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Roger Cheng<\/a>\u00a0states that the 351,940 <strong>government requests for data<\/strong> are the most out of any of the four national wireless carriers.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.t-mobile.com\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-105817\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rbach.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/logo_t-mobile.jpg?resize=67%2C75&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"67\" height=\"75\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rbach.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/logo_t-mobile.jpg?resize=67%2C75&amp;ssl=1 67w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rbach.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/logo_t-mobile.jpg?resize=133%2C150&amp;ssl=1 133w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rbach.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/logo_t-mobile.jpg?w=266&amp;ssl=1 266w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 67px) 100vw, 67px\" \/><\/a>The number 4 U.S. carrier by subscriber base recently released its first <a href=\"http:\/\/newsroom.t-mobile.com\/content\/1020\/files\/NewTransparencyReport.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">transparency report<\/a>. The article breaks down the government requests for T-Mobile information:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>177,549 criminal and civil <strong>subpoenas<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>17,316 <strong>warrants<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>3,000+ wiretap orders<\/li>\n<li>Between 2,000 and 2,250 <strong>national security requests<\/strong>,<\/li>\n<li>8 requests from <strong>foreign governments<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These numbers represent an 11% <strong>increase in government demands<\/strong>\u00a0for subscriber information over last 2013.<\/p>\n<p>The article claims that Verizon and AT&amp;T each have twice as many customers, but T-Mobile fielded more requests than its rivals.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"Verizon\" href=\"http:\/\/www.verizon.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Verizon<\/a> (<a title=\"NASDAQ : VZ\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tradingview.com\/symbols\/NYSE-VZ\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">VZ<\/a>) with 132 million <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/283507\/subscribers-to-top-wireless-carriers-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">subscribers<\/a> in Q4 of 2014, saw 287,559 government requests.<\/li>\n<li><a title=\"AT&amp;T\" href=\"http:\/\/www.att.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"wikipedia noopener noreferrer\">AT&amp;T<\/a> (<a title=\"NYSE : T\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nyse.com\/quote\/XNYS:T\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">T<\/a>), with nearly 121 million <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/283507\/subscribers-to-top-wireless-carriers-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">subscribers<\/a> in Q4 of 2014, saw 263,755 government requests,<\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Sprint Nextel\" href=\"http:\/\/www.sprint.com\/business\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sprint<\/a>\u00a0(<a title=\"NYSE : S\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nyse.com\/quote\/XNYS:S\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">S<\/a>) with 55.5 million <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/283507\/subscribers-to-top-wireless-carriers-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">subscribers<\/a> in Q4 of 2014, saw 308,937 government requests.<\/li>\n<li>T-Mobile\u00a0with just over 55 million <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/283507\/subscribers-to-top-wireless-carriers-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">subscribers<\/a> in Q4 of 2014, saw 351,940 government requests.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here is how the four wireless carriers&#8217; government information requests compare.<\/p>\n\n<table id=\"tablepress-38\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-38\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1\">\n\t<th class=\"column-1\">Carrier<\/th><th class=\"column-2\">Subscribers<\/th><th class=\"column-3\">Supeanas<\/th><th class=\"column-4\">Warrants<\/th><th class=\"column-5\">WireTap Orders<\/th><th class=\"column-6\">Total Requests<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody class=\"row-striping row-hover\">\n<tr class=\"row-2\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Verizon<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">132 million<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">138,158`<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">31,214<\/td><td class=\"column-5\">1,433<\/td><td class=\"column-6\">351,940<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">AT&amp;T<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">121 million<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">201,754<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">20,985<\/td><td class=\"column-5\">2,420<\/td><td class=\"column-6\">263,755<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Sprint<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">55.5 million<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">308,937<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">13,540<\/td><td class=\"column-5\">3,772<\/td><td class=\"column-6\">308,936<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-5\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">T-Mobile<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">55 million<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">177,439<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">17,316<\/td><td class=\"column-5\">3,087<\/td><td class=\"column-6\">251,940<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-6\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Totals<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">358.5 million<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">826,288<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">83,055<\/td><td class=\"column-5\">10,712<\/td><td class=\"column-6\">1,176,571<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<!-- #tablepress-38 from cache -->\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/technology\/internet-users-privacy-upheld-by-canada-s-top-court-1.2673823\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-105819 size-medium\" title=\"surveillance programs\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rbach.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/surviillence.jpg?resize=150%2C84&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"surveillance programs\" width=\"150\" height=\"84\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rbach.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/surviillence.jpg?resize=150%2C84&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rbach.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/surviillence.jpg?resize=75%2C42&amp;ssl=1 75w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rbach.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/surviillence.jpg?w=620&amp;ssl=1 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>Transparency reports<\/strong> have become increasingly popular over the past year as civil liberties groups, shareholder and consumer advocates have pressured companies to be more open about when they <strong>disclose customer information<\/strong>. The article claims T-Mobile was the last of the four national carriers to issue a transparency report, which comes amid continued scrutiny of <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnet.com\/news\/nsa-can-track-everyones-phone-calls-again-for-a-while\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">surveillance programs<\/a><\/strong> run by U.S. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.urbandictionary.com\/define.php?term=Three-letter+Agencies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">three-letter agencies<\/a>\u00a0and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2013\/dec\/02\/history-of-5-eyes-explainer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">friends<\/a>&#8212; including the bulk collection of phone call data &#8212; that was revealed when former NSA contractor <a title=\"Edward Snowden\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20211220064108\/https:\/\/www.crunchbase.com\/person\/edward-snowden\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"crunchbase nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Edward Snowden<\/a> leaked classified government documents.<\/p>\n<p>The author notes that companies aren&#8217;t under a legal obligation to show the data in transparency reports, but have been willing to share with the hope that the reports will help repair their reputations, which have been damaged by the Snowden revelations of the past two years.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>rb-<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20150909101831\/http:\/\/www.tpnn.com\/2014\/04\/03\/yahoo-taking-steps-to-block-obama-nsa-spying\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-105821 size-medium\" title=\"government demands\u00a0for subscriber information\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rbach.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/obama-looking-at-computer.gif?resize=150%2C109&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"government demands\u00a0for subscriber information\" width=\"150\" height=\"109\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rbach.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/obama-looking-at-computer.gif?resize=150%2C109&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rbach.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/obama-looking-at-computer.gif?resize=75%2C54&amp;ssl=1 75w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>This data only represents data requests where they bothered to follow U.S. laws to legally request data. How much more is there sitting in a data warehouse in the sky? \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Why is the T-Mobile number so high? Is it bad luck? Do they fight the requests the most? Are they playing ball with the TLA&#8217;s? \u00a0We may never know.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/venturebeat.com\/2015\/07\/06\/t-mobiles-silence-on-government-data-requests-only-raises-more-questions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">VentureBeat<\/a> speculates that the best way to measure how willing T-Mobile works with the government is by looking at the percentage of government requests to which T-Mobile delivered\u00a0data. But T-Mobile refused to offer that information to VentureBeat.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cRegarding the additional question on breaking out the numbers\u00a0further than what\u2019s currently provided in the report, our systems were not designed to track the kind of detailed reporting that other companies engage in today,\u201d a T-Mobile spokesperson wrote to VentureBeat.<\/em><\/p>\n<h6>Related articles<\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20191206151218\/https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/SB10907564710791284872504581070502004499610\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">A Government Snoop That Puts the NSA To Shame<\/a> (wsj.com)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><a title=\"Ralph Bach\" href=\"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/new-resume\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ralph Bach<\/a>\u00a0has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his\u00a0<a title=\"Bach Seat\" href=\"https:\/\/rbach.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bach Seat<\/a> about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on <a class=\"broken_link\" href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/rb48334\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">LinkedIn<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ralph.bach.14\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rbach48334\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Twitter<\/a>. Email the Bach Seat\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:\/\/bach.seat@gmail.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Feds ordered T-Mobile, the smallest wireless carrier to turn over the largest amount of customer data in the latest transparency report<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[3277,109,2484,2364,45,1001,1000,2319,641,999,2486,2490,2485,89,734,2489,2487],"class_list":["post-77440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-3277","tag-att","tag-data-collection","tag-edward-snowden","tag-politics","tag-s","tag-sprint","tag-subpeona","tag-t","tag-t-mobile","tag-tmus","tag-u-s-government","tag-uk","tag-verizon","tag-vz","tag-warrant","tag-wiretap"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77440"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":131062,"href":"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77440\/revisions\/131062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}