France Summons U.S. Ambassador Over Spying

06:06

October 21, 2013

U.S Ambassador to France Charles H. Rivkin, right, leaves the Foreign Ministry in Paris, after he was summoned Monday, Oct. 21, 2013. (Claude Paris/AP)

The French newspaper Le Monde says the U.S. National Security Agency recorded over 70 million pieces of telephone data in France in under a month.

Le Monde reports that the spying took place between December 10, 2012, and January 8, 2013. The program also used key words to gather information from text messages.

The Le Monde report was co-written by journalist Glenn Greenwald, based in part on the documents Greenwald received from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

The French government is summoning the U.S. ambassador for an explanation today.

The documents have also revealed that the U.S. has been spying heads of state, including the current and former presidents of Mexico, and the Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, who canceled a trip to the U.S. in protest.

The revelations come as the panel of independent experts appointed by President Obama to review NSA operations takes up its work again after a pause caused by the government shutdown.

Greg Miller, who has been covering the story for The Washington Post, joins Here & Now's Robin Young.

Guest

Greg Miller, national security correspondent for The Washington Post. He tweets @gregpmiller.

This segment aired on October 21, 2013.