Berlin: UK data spying allegations, Hollywood nightmare

Iran Press TV

Sun Jun 23, 2013 5:47AM GMT

German Justice Minister has demanded explanation from London over reports that British intelligence services have been tapping global internet traffic and phone calls, saying the allegations are a “nightmare out of Hollywood”.

The Guardian revealed on Friday that the British Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) has been secretly accessing the network of cables, which carry the world’s phone calls and internet traffic and is sharing the data with its American counterpart the National Security Agency (NSA).

“The allegations against Great Britain sound like a nightmare out of Hollywood," German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said.

"European institutions should shed light on this immediately,” she added.

The paper cited documents leaked to it by American whistleblower Edward Snowden as showing that GCHQ has been running the operation codenamed Tempora for the past 18 months.

The agency’s controversial plan is to scoop up as much online and telephone traffic as possible, under its Mastering the Internet and Global Telecoms Exploitation program.

AMR/HE