Brazil calls Obama's remarks on spying a “first step”

The Brazilian government has called the US government's decision to review the NSA's activities a “first step”. In a statement posted Sunday (Jan. 19) to Blog do Planalto, Brazil's presidential blog, spokesman Thomas Traumann said that the Brazil “will watch very closely on how President Barack Obama's speech will turn out in practice”.

Obama announced changes to NSA's approach last Friday (Jan. 17). In his speech, he said the country will no longer routinely spy on allied nations and their leaders' communications. The US president also said he has already ordered intelligence services against doing so “unless there is a compelling national security purpose.”

At several points during his speech, Obama exhorted friendly countries to trust the US, but made it clear that the US will not apologize for doing what “the intelligence services of every other nation does.”

The US have faced a diplomatic crisis with several allied countries after former NSA IT contractor Edward Snowden leaked documents about surveillance activities conducted by US agencies. The documents contained evidence that world leaders were being monitored, including President Dilma Rousseff and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

After the revelations, Brazil and Germany demanded explanations from the US government and worked together to submit a draft resolution to the United Nations called The Right to Privacy in the Digital Age, which was passed by the General Assembly in December.

Translated by Mayra Borges