White House on French NSA complaint: 'All nations' spy

October 22, 2013 01:13

The White House today brushed off France's complaints about new allegations of eavesdropping by a top US espionage agency, saying "all nations" conduct spying operations.

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault earlier said he was "deeply shocked" by reports that the US National Security Agency had secretly monitored tens of millions of phone conversations within France and demanded an explanation.

The White House, in line with its normal procedure, declined to comment on the specific charges which outraged its ally.

"As a matter of policy, we have made clear that the United States gathers foreign intelligence of the type gathered by all nations," said National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden.

"As the president said in his speech at the UN General Assembly, we've 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."

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