US ambassador denies Brazil's spying accusation

RIO DE JANEIRO - The US Ambassador to Brazil, Thomas Shannon, Monday rejected Brazil's accusation that the US government has been spying on Brazilians citizens and companies over the past years.

Shannon told reporters after meeting Brazilian Communications Minister Paulo Bernardo that the story in local daily O Globo on Sunday presents an "incorrect image" of the US intelligence program.

"The story ran in O Globo presented an incorrect image of our program, so we are working with Brazil to answer their questions," the Ambassador said, stressing that his country will continue to collaborate with Brazil in the intelligence field.

The story detailed how the massive NSA (National Security Agency) espionage scheme leaked by Edward Snowden affected Brazilians.

Shannon did not, however, answer any questions on whether the US actually did monitor millions of calls and e-mails made by Brazilian citizens, as the daily reported.

According to O Globo, Brazil was a priority target of NSA's surveillance program, which also affected a number of other countries.

Brazil's National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) announced Monday that it has launched an investigation into whether any US firms operating in the country "in any way violated the privacy of personal data and phone calls."