Germany and Brazil have asked the UN General
Assembly to adopt a draft resolution calling for
the right to privacy in the digital age.
The draft calls for an end to excessive electronic
surveillance, noting that the illegal collection of
personal data "constitutes a highly intrusive act".
Brazil and Germany have both been angered by
allegations of large-scale US surveillance.
The allegations stem from revelations by US
whistleblower Edward Snowden.
'Deeply concerned'
The draft resolution, which does not name individual
countries, will be debated by a General Assembly
committee focusing on human rights.
The draft calls on the 193-member assembly to declare
that it is "deeply concerned at human rights violations
and abuses that may result from the conduct of any
surveillance of communications".
This includes "extraterritorial surveillance of
communications, their interception, as well as the
collection of personal data, in particular massive
surveillance, interception and data collection".
The resolution, which will be voted on later this month,
calls on all countries to protect the right to privacy
guaranteed under international law.
While General Assembly resolutions are non-binding,
they can carry significant moral and political weight if
they win enough support.
The draft follows allegations that the US has been
eavesdropping on foreign leaders, including Brazilian
President Dilma Rousseff and German Chancellor
Angela Merkel, angering US allies in Europe and Asia.
Disclosures about the extent of US spying activity came
from documents leaked to media organisations by
former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor
Edward Snowden.
The German government earlier said it was keen to
speak directly to Mr Snowden about US surveillance
activities, after it was revealed the NSA had been
bugging Mrs Merkel's mobile phone for years.
Mr Snowden had earlier met German Green MP Hans-
Christian Stroebele in Moscow and expressed his
readiness to brief the German government on NSA
spying.
His lawyers said any meeting with German investigators
would take place in Moscow, not Germany.
The German chancellor's anxiety about US spying
overshadowed last week's EU summit, when she
remarked with irritation that spying on friends is "really
not on".
Ms Rousseff was angered by revelations that the NSA
had hacked the computer network of Brazil's state-run
oil company Petrobras to collect data on emails and
telephone calls.
Mr Stroebele (right) met Mr Snowden at a secret
location in Moscow
US Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged on
Friday that in some cases, US spying had gone too far.
He said he would work with President Barack Obama to
prevent further inappropriate actions by the NSA.
Mr Snowden, 30, fled to Russia in June after leaking
details of far-reaching US telephone and internet
espionage. He has temporary asylum, allowing him to
live in Russia, until July 2014.
Mr Snowden's lawyer said his client had started work
on Friday for a major private website in Russia but did
not disclose which site, citing security concerns.
The scale of the alleged US espionage has provoked
international concern and calls for tighter supervision.
Asian countries have also protested at claims that
Australia was involved in a US-led spy network, with
Indonesia summoning the Australian ambassador to
Jakarta.
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