France is reportedly ‘angry’ at the US in the wake of recent reports that claimed the National Security Agency (NSA) is snooping over French diplomats in Washington and at the UN.
As part of snooping efforts, the NSA reportedly implanted bugs within the diplomats’ computers, among other devices, Le Monde newspaper reveals.
The NSA’s latest snooping accusations, which say they implemented a sophisticated surveillance programme, called ‘Genie’, comes after claims that the agency tapped millions of phones in France.
French President Francois Hollande, who expressed ‘deep disapproval’ over allegations that US agency had snooped phone calls in France, demanded an explanation from the US President Barack Obama.
According to the publisher, the NSA gathered over 70.3 million recordings of French phone data between 10 December 2012 and 8 January 2013 and also collected tens of thousands of the country’s phone records.
The White House said in a statement that Obama and Hollande have discussed recent disclosures in the press – some of which have distorted the country’s activities, and some of which raise legitimate questions for its mates and allies about how these capabilities are employed.
"The president made clear that the United States has begun to review the way that we gather intelligence, so that we properly balance the legitimate security concerns of our citizens and allies with the privacy concerns that all people share," the White House said.
"The two presidents agreed that we should continue to discuss these issues in diplomatic channels."
Recently, Mexico also slammed the US NSA over alleged spying on email account of ex-Mexican President Felipe Calderon in 2010.
