On this page you can find some of the media hits that we had from this campaign and the press release we sent out.

For more information please contact our Media and Communications Officer.

Media Coverage

		Inserting human right into telecoms one company at a time (21.08.2011) Vodafone, who has been operating in Egypt since 1998 and whose Egyptian operations are partially owned by Telecom Egypt, was one of three operators that shutdown their services late January. More on Phone Blocking
		Shedding light on Vodafone's digital darkness (27.06.2011) A company like Vodafone is well aware that its AGM is the kind of place that will attract some less than friendly faces on the doorstep. Guilty conscience? Indeed. Read More
		Vodafone under fire for bowing to Egyptian pressure (26.06.2011) At Vodafone's annual meeting in London on Tuesday, Brett Solomon, director of lobby group Access, asked: "How prepared are you for the future crises that are sure to happen in the 70-odd countries in which you operate? Read More
		Vodafone's Bad Call on Egypt (26.07.2011)  Anthony Hilton used his 'City Comment' piece to support our calls for Vodafone to consider the risks assosiated with their complicity with repressive regimes. Print Only
		Vodafone faces pressure over Egypt protests (25.07.2011) Campaigners will seek to use Vodafone's annual meeting on Tuesday to call on the mobile phone group to prevent a repetition of how its network in Egypt was used to carry propaganda on behalf of the country's former ruler. Read more on Vodafone and Phone Blocking

Press Release: FairPensions and Access Question the Vodafone Board at their AGM

Vodafone were asked about their role in recent uprisings in the Middle East at their AGM in London today (26.06.2011) by technology rights advocates who had crossed the Atlantic to speak with them.

Recent uprisings in the Middle East have shone a spotlight on the role that telecommunications companies (‘Telecoms') played in the suppression of communications and the tracking of the movements of pro-democracy demonstrators. Campaigners are calling on Vodafone and its competitors to ensure that they are never again complicit in human rights violations, even unwillingly.

Vodafone, who shut down their network during the Egyptian uprising and sent pro-government messages to some of their 28 million customers in the country, has defended its actions by saying that it would have been breaking the law if it had defied the wishes of the Mubarak regime.

Thousands of people, across 80 countries, endorsed the question that was put by New York based NGO Access to the Vodafone board.

In response to a question from Brett Solomon on the issue of phone blocking  the chairman of Vodafone, Sir John Bond, said that licensing agreements mean that governments will always have the power to take over phone networks.

Access is working to encourage Telecoms to implement a five step action plan that would prevent them from having their hand forced by repressive regimes.

Brett Solomon, Executive Director at Access who asked the question at the Vodafone AGM today, said:

"Contrary to what the chairman said, Vodafone is the worlds largest mobile operator and does have power to influence the licensing arrangements. They must be prepared for troubled digital waters ahead by adopting the 5 point plan so that they don't have to make the choice between staff protection and shutting down the Internet. We look forward to meeting with Vittorio Colao, the CEO, to discuss the audit and the adoption of the plan. "

Louise Rouse, Director of Engagement at FairPensions, who is working with Access to highlight the reputational and financial risks to investors in Telecoms, said:

"Complying with the demands of repressive regimes carries potentially very significant reputational and financial risk for telecommunication companies and their shareholders. Investors should ensure that companies carry out an assessment of the human rights impacts of the terms of their operating licences in such countries. Investors need to also ensure that companies have, since Vodafone's experience in Egypt, developed a response plan in the event that they face similar demands in other countries."