The EU threatens the abolition of its trade agreement with the US, and other deals, if blanket surveillance by the NSA on EU citizens doesn’t stop. MEPs announced a resolution that wraps up a six-month inquiry into America’s violation of data privacy. Edward Snowden became one of the pillars of this resolution, following an invitation from the European Parliament to provide testimony for the inquiry.... 

The doubts raised by the NSA spying could cost US tech companies as much as $35 billion over the next three years. Technology companies in the United States have criticized President Barack Obama for his failure to do enough to protect citizens’ privacy amid months-long reports on government’s spying scandals. The companies say the president’s speech on US surveillance is a step in right direction... 

The NSA’s warrantless collection of telephone metadata of Americans may come to an end with US President Barack Obama set to announce a ban on the practice, AP reports citing a government official. A senior White House administration official told the agency that Obama will on Friday call for an end to the National Security Agency’s collection of phone data from millions of US citizens “in a... 

The National Security Agency refuses to deny whether it is spying on members of Congress after it received a bluntly worded letter from a senator seeking clarification on the issue. Sen. Bernie Sanders sent a letter to the NSA on Friday, asking whether it has or is “spying” on US lawmakers and other elected officials. The Vermont independent said he was “deeply concerned” about the... 

Obama’s Director for National Intelligence, James Clapper, has declassified new documents that reveal how the NSA was first given the green light to start collecting bulk communication data in the hunt for Al-Qaeda terrorists after 9/11. President Barack Obama’s administration has for the first time publicly confirmed “the existence of collection activities authorized by President George... 

The Canadian police have arrested a citizen on charges of trying to provide classified information to the Chinese government, officials say. Canadian police arrested Ontario resident Qing Quentin Huang on Saturday, on charges that he was taking steps to pass on classified information to China relating to Canada’s national shipbuilding strategy, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said on... 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel uses her mobile phone before a 2011 meeting at a European Union summit in Brussels. German politicians have agreed on measures to keep their internal communications safe in light of the recent reports about spying by the US National Security Agency (NSA) on top German officials. On Thursday, the interior ministry of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and their Social... 

Japan Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera says reports of the US spying on Tokyo, if proved to be true, could hurt the ties between the two countries. Onodera made the remarks two days after The New York Times reported that US National Security Agency (NSA) has spied on Japan, adding that the NSA had used its surveillance powers to achieve economic advantage on Japan, Brazil and a number of other nations. On... 

Malaysia has summoned the heads of US and Australian diplomatic missions in the country to protest at an alleged US-led spying network. Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said his country had summoned the US and Australian envoys to “hand over a protest note in response to the alleged spying activities carried out by the two embassies in Kuala Lumpur.” The Malaysian foreign minister... 

General Keith Alexander, director of the US National Security Agency (NSA) has defended his agency’s surveillance of friendly foreign governments but he said the orders came from American diplomats and policymakers. Gen. Alexander tried to justify the NSA’s programs based on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. He said they only keep the phone calls in addition to their date, time and duration,... 

China has demanded explanation from the US after a report revealed that Australian embassies, including the one in Beijing, have been used in Washington’s spying operations. “China is extremely concerned about this report and demands that the United States offers a clarification and explanation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, told reporters on Thursday. “We... 

The European Union is considering a possible imposition of sanctions on the United States as a response to Washington’s massive spying activities on its closest European allies. German officials said Monday that the EU is considering suspending a data-sharing agreement between the EU and the US. The agreement allows the United States access to funds transferred through the private, Belgium-based... 

Controlling social behavior: Proposal could ban criticism of Islam, feminism! A frightening proposal currently being considered by the European Parliament would direct governments to monitor citizens deemed “intolerant” and could even lead to a ban on all criticism of Islam and feminism. The European Framework National Statute for the Promotion of Tolerance (PDF), which was drafted by the European... 

Spain’s public prosecutor has opened a preliminary inquiry into allegations that the US spy agency has conducted illegal surveillance operations on millions of Spanish citizens. Spain’s Attorney General Eduardo Torres-Dulce called for an information gathering process to determine whether a crime was committed and if Spain should consider opening a formal investigation, his office said in a statement... 

In what might be the most explicit hostility to such freedoms yet – as well as the most unmistakable evidence of rampant panic – the NSA’s director, General Keith Alexander, actually demanded Thursday that the reporting being done by newspapers around the world on this secret surveillance system be halted. The head of the embattled National Security Agency, Gen Keith Alexander, is accusing...