Britney Spears was under round-the-clock surveillance as a security firm hired by her father Jamie Spears monitored the pop star’s phone and bugged her bedroom after a court placed her under conservatorship in 2008. Alex Vlasov, who said he worked with Britney’s team for nearly nine years, said Black Box Security “mirrored” the pop singer’s phone on an iPad by logging in to her iCloud account.

The company also placed a listening device in her bedroom, Vlasov said in New York Times documentary Controlling Britney Spears that premiered on Friday night and follows the filmmakers’ previous work Framing Britney Spears, which debuted in February.

According to Reuters, Vlasov said he was asked to encrypt some of Spears’ text conversations so they could be sent to her father, Jamie Spears, and an employee of a business management firm he had hired.

  Also read: Britney Spears conservatorship row: A complete timeline

Vlasov said he was told that communications were being reviewed for Britney’s own “security and protection” and that the court overseeing the conservatorship was “aware of it”, as was her attorney at the time. The monitoring included discussions between Britney Spears and her attorney, Sam Ingham, according to Vlasov.

Vivian Thoreen, an attorney for Jamie Spears, did not discuss specific allegations, but said that his actions “were well within the parameters of the authority conferred upon him by the court,” and “were done with knowledge and consent of Britney, her court-appointed attorney and/or the court.”

“Jamie’s record as conservator – and the court’s approval of his actions – speak for themselves,” Thoreen added, saying Jamie Spears had helped his daughter rehabilitate her career and improve her financial situation.

A lawyer for Black Box Security President Edan Yemini, in a statement shown in the documentary, said, “Mr Yemini and Black Box have always conducted themselves within professional, ethical and legal bounds, and they are particularly proud of their work keeping Ms Spears safe for many years.”

 Britney has described the conservatorship, which put her father in charge of her finances, healthcare and other major decisions, as “abusive”. In September, her father filed a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court, saying he supported ending the conservatorship because of changed circumstances. 

A hearing on the case is scheduled for September 29 . Spears’ new attorney, Mathew Rosengart, said he would investigate the monitoring allegations which amount to a “shameful and shocking violation of her privacy and civil liberties.”

Earlier this week, just days after her engagement to Sam Asghari, Britney announced a break from social media.