Norway investigates Telenor over alleged role in military surveillance
Questions over customer data, surveillance tech, and military ties remain.
The Telenor ASA logo. Joan Cros/NurPhoto/Getty.
- Norwegian police are investigating Telenor over alleged complicity in crimes against humanity in Myanmar.
- Human rights experts allege customer data for more than 18 million people reached military-linked buyers.
- Authorities are examining whether surveillance equipment helped Myanmar’s junta track opponents after the 2021 coup.
- Telenor says employees faced severe risks if they disobeyed military orders and will cooperate with police.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
Law enforcement authorities in Norway have launched an investigation into telecom operator Telenor for alleged complicity in crimes against humanity.
In February 2021, the military junta in Myanmar staged a coup. A few months later, Telenor decided to sell its Myanmar subsidiary, which was finalized in March 2022.
Human rights experts claim that the telecom operator sold private user data, call records, and location data of more than 18 million people to the military leaders.
In addition, the company’s active surveillance technology installed during that time was turned over to a military-linked company.
Allegedly, Telenor’s customer information and surveillance technology were used to track down dissidents, elected political leaders, and others who opposed the military regime. Thousands of people were either arrested, prosecuted, or killed by the leaders of the military junta.
On Tuesday, law enforcement authorities in Norway announced they had launched 2 separate investigations into Telenor's dealings during the coup in Myanmar.
The Police Security Service (PST), Norway’s domestic security and intelligence agency, is looking into Telenor’s sale of its Myanmar subsidiary and surveillance equipment.
Kripsos, Norway’s national criminal investigation service, launched an inquiry into alleged complicity in crimes against humanity.
The reason for the charge is that Telenor repeatedly handed over historical traffic data about customers to the military regime during this period, at the same time as the regime was responsible for extensive abuses against parts of the civilian population,the official press release states.
On Tuesday, PST and Kripsos conducted a joint search of Telenor’s headquarters in Oslo.
David Fidjeland, Media Relations Director at Telenor, said in a statement that Telenor’s employees “risked imprisonment, torture or the death penalty if the military authorities’ orders were not complied with.”
“This was a very demanding situation in which we found that we had no real choice and that we could not put our employees’ lives at risk,” he added.
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“We will, of course, co-operate fully with the police and help ensure the case is thoroughly examined. This is a complex case that has also been investigated by the police before. We will therefore let the police carry out their work and await the further process before commenting on the case in more detail,” Fidjeland concluded.
In April 2026, the Justice and Accountability Initiative, a Swedish non-profit organization, filed a lawsuit against Telenor for sharing private information of dissidents with Myanmar’s military regime, resulting in arrests, prosecutions, and executions of dissidents.
