Spanish Authorities Conduct Large-Scale Surveillance on Residents

Spanish government is among authorities, which are spying on residents through their phone calls, text messages and browsing history, former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Spanish authorities are spying on the country’s residents through their phone calls, text messages and browsing history, as well as the use of bank cards, former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden said in an interview with a Spanish national broadcaster.

According to Snowden, every time any one of the approximately 45 million people who live in Spain sends a text message, makes a call or visits a website, a record is created. Every time a purchase is made using a bank card, a log is generated, Snowden told La Sexta television channel.

The former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor turned rights activist argues that telecommunications companies operating in Spain may also be involved in the mass surveillance.

Governments of countries such as France, Germany and the United Kingdom also spy on their nationals, Snowden said. According to the ex-NSA contractor, there is no doubt that mass surveillance increases the power of the governments that conduct it.

In 2013, Snowden leaked some 1.7 million classified US government documents detailing the widespread secret mass electronic surveillance programs conducted by the NSA and other US intelligence agencies.