NSA reportedly has secret data collection agreement with several European countries

Editor’s Note: Since Salon published this story, The Guardian has taken down its report with the note, “This article has been taken down pending an investigation.” Business Insider has a link to a cached version of the initial story.

The Guardian has since published a follow-up story that reports that “The president of the European parliament has called for full clarification from the US over claims it bugged EU offices in America and accessed computer networks.”

From earlier:
The NSA has been working with at least seven European other countries to collect personal communications data, according to Wayne Madsen, a former NSA contractor who has come forward because he thinks the public should not be “kept in the dark.” According to Madsen, Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain and Italy all have formed secret agreements with the US to submit sensitive data.

Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com. 

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