Europe monitors phones, internet

Spy agencies across Western Europe are working together on mass surveillance of Internet and phone traffic comparable to programs run by their US counterpart denounced by European governments, Britain's Guardian newspaper reported on Saturday.

Citing documents leaked by fugitive former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, the Guardian said methods included tapping into fiber optic cables and working covertly with private telecommunications companies.

The Guardian named Germany, France, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands as countries where intelligence agencies had been developing such methods in cooperation with counterparts, including Britain's surveillance agency GCHQ.

Germany and France have been the most vocal in protesting about US mass surveillance of European communication networks.

Germany, jointly with Brazil, circulated a draft resolution to a UN General Assembly committee on Friday that called for an end to excessive electronic surveillance, data collection and other gross invasions of privacy.

Reuters