"In a small number of countries the law dictates that specific agencies and authorities must have direct access to an operator's network, bypassing any form of

"In a small number of countries the law dictates that specific agencies and authorities must have direct access to an operator's network, bypassing any form of operational control over lawful interception on the part of the operator," Or in other words, what Greenwald and Snowden claimed PRISM did. I say "claimed" since PRISM doesn't actually do this. Also the article specifically noted that the U.S. was not one of the 6, since Vodafone doesn't operate there. So that leaves Europe and the rest of the world...