The government issued a clear guarantee that access would not be given to read telecom customers' text messages in the fight against fraud. But that guarantee has proven to be untenable.
The fact that telecommunications companies have had access to read text messages through a filter that was supposed to protect citizens against scam messages is probably not what was allowed, according to Minister for Digitalization Caroline Stage (M).
- That is probably not what was allowed, and that is also what we are reacting to, she says in a short interview at Christiansborg.
The trade magazine Ingeniøren has described how employees at telecommunications companies have had access to read messages for months through a filter that was supposed to protect against scam messages, which, for example, misuse the name of energy companies to try to lure money out of consumers.
The system works by algorithms and artificial intelligence analyzing all the text messages sent to citizens' phones. They are checked to see if they are fraudulent. For example, the algorithm will catch if an SMS is sent to many thousands of citizens at once and contains harmful links.
Will investigate the matter
When the government presented the system as a means to combat the increasing SMS fraud in November 2024, it was said that no reading would be done.
- They will not be given access to read people's messages, said Minister of Business and Industry Morten Bødskov (S) to Politiken at the time.
But they were given access, and since then the telecommunications companies themselves have made themselves aware of the access and have stopped using the intrusive parts of the filter, so it is not particularly effective anymore. Caroline Stage wants the matter investigated.
- I am of course surprised by that. That is also why I asked for a statement from the telecommunications companies in August. It was not the agreement we had, nor what had been approved in advance, she says.
The Danish Digital Agency is currently assessing the SMS filter. The minister will then discuss it with the parties in the Folketing.
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