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Like Brazilians, Mexicans, Germans, and countless citizens from across the Middle East and elsewhere, new revelations based on documents released by Edward Snowden and reported on by journalist Glenn Greenwald--this time for Le Monde in Paris--show that the NSA has used its global surveillance capabilities to spy on French communication networks.
According to Greenwald's reporting, which was done in collaboration with journalists at the French paper, the NSA targeting in France was not restricted to those with alleged terrorist ties, but was extended to individuals or networks in the "worlds of business, politics or French state administration."
Le Monde reports (in translation):
According to the documents retrieved from the NSA database by its ex-analyst, telephone communications of French citizens are intercepted on a massive scale. Le Monde has been able to obtain access to documents which describe the techniques used to violate the secrets or simply the private life of French people. Some elements of information about this espionage have been referred to by Der Speigel and The Guardian, but others are, to date, unpublished.
Amongst the thousands of documents extracted from the NSA by its ex-employee there is a graph which describes the extent of telephone monitoring and tapping (DNR - Dial Number Recognition) carried out in France. It can be seen that over a period of thirty days - from 10 December 2012 to 8 January 2013, 70,3 million recordings of French citizens' telephone data were made by the NSA. This agency has several methods of data collection. According to the elements obtained by Le Monde, when a telephone number is used in France, it activates a signal which automatically triggers the recording of the call. Apparently this surveillance system also picks up SMS messages and their content using key words. Finally, the NSA apparently stores the history of the connections of each target - or the meta-data.
In response to the revelations, according to The Guardian, the French government has "summoned the US ambassador in Paris, demanding an explanation about claims."
From The Guardian:
The French interior minister, Manuel Valls, has described the revelations as shocking, and said he will be pressing for detailed explanations from Washington.
"Rules are obviously needed when it comes to new communication technologies, and that's something that concerns every country," he told Europe-1 radio. "If a friendly country - an ally - spies on France or other European countries, that is completely unacceptable."
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Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |

Like Brazilians, Mexicans, Germans, and countless citizens from across the Middle East and elsewhere, new revelations based on documents released by Edward Snowden and reported on by journalist Glenn Greenwald--this time for Le Monde in Paris--show that the NSA has used its global surveillance capabilities to spy on French communication networks.
According to Greenwald's reporting, which was done in collaboration with journalists at the French paper, the NSA targeting in France was not restricted to those with alleged terrorist ties, but was extended to individuals or networks in the "worlds of business, politics or French state administration."
Le Monde reports (in translation):
According to the documents retrieved from the NSA database by its ex-analyst, telephone communications of French citizens are intercepted on a massive scale. Le Monde has been able to obtain access to documents which describe the techniques used to violate the secrets or simply the private life of French people. Some elements of information about this espionage have been referred to by Der Speigel and The Guardian, but others are, to date, unpublished.
Amongst the thousands of documents extracted from the NSA by its ex-employee there is a graph which describes the extent of telephone monitoring and tapping (DNR - Dial Number Recognition) carried out in France. It can be seen that over a period of thirty days - from 10 December 2012 to 8 January 2013, 70,3 million recordings of French citizens' telephone data were made by the NSA. This agency has several methods of data collection. According to the elements obtained by Le Monde, when a telephone number is used in France, it activates a signal which automatically triggers the recording of the call. Apparently this surveillance system also picks up SMS messages and their content using key words. Finally, the NSA apparently stores the history of the connections of each target - or the meta-data.
In response to the revelations, according to The Guardian, the French government has "summoned the US ambassador in Paris, demanding an explanation about claims."
From The Guardian:
The French interior minister, Manuel Valls, has described the revelations as shocking, and said he will be pressing for detailed explanations from Washington.
"Rules are obviously needed when it comes to new communication technologies, and that's something that concerns every country," he told Europe-1 radio. "If a friendly country - an ally - spies on France or other European countries, that is completely unacceptable."
________________________________________

Like Brazilians, Mexicans, Germans, and countless citizens from across the Middle East and elsewhere, new revelations based on documents released by Edward Snowden and reported on by journalist Glenn Greenwald--this time for Le Monde in Paris--show that the NSA has used its global surveillance capabilities to spy on French communication networks.
According to Greenwald's reporting, which was done in collaboration with journalists at the French paper, the NSA targeting in France was not restricted to those with alleged terrorist ties, but was extended to individuals or networks in the "worlds of business, politics or French state administration."
Le Monde reports (in translation):
According to the documents retrieved from the NSA database by its ex-analyst, telephone communications of French citizens are intercepted on a massive scale. Le Monde has been able to obtain access to documents which describe the techniques used to violate the secrets or simply the private life of French people. Some elements of information about this espionage have been referred to by Der Speigel and The Guardian, but others are, to date, unpublished.
Amongst the thousands of documents extracted from the NSA by its ex-employee there is a graph which describes the extent of telephone monitoring and tapping (DNR - Dial Number Recognition) carried out in France. It can be seen that over a period of thirty days - from 10 December 2012 to 8 January 2013, 70,3 million recordings of French citizens' telephone data were made by the NSA. This agency has several methods of data collection. According to the elements obtained by Le Monde, when a telephone number is used in France, it activates a signal which automatically triggers the recording of the call. Apparently this surveillance system also picks up SMS messages and their content using key words. Finally, the NSA apparently stores the history of the connections of each target - or the meta-data.
In response to the revelations, according to The Guardian, the French government has "summoned the US ambassador in Paris, demanding an explanation about claims."
From The Guardian:
The French interior minister, Manuel Valls, has described the revelations as shocking, and said he will be pressing for detailed explanations from Washington.
"Rules are obviously needed when it comes to new communication technologies, and that's something that concerns every country," he told Europe-1 radio. "If a friendly country - an ally - spies on France or other European countries, that is completely unacceptable."
________________________________________