Cameron Kerry tries to reassure Europe over NSA spying

In a speech at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, Cameron Kerry, the Commerce Department's general counsel, urged Europeans not to let the disclosures about National Security Agency surveillance harm relations with the United States. He warned that cutting off the flow of data between Europe and the US "would cause significant and immediate economic damage."

Many Europeans have expressed outrage about the extent of the NSA's surveillance of international phone calls and Internet traffic. Documents leaked by Edward Snowden also indicated that the U.S. has spied on European missions and embassies. But Kerry argued that, taking into account differences in population and Internet usage, the United States collects about the same amount of information as other countries, including those in Europe. He added that the Obama administration is committed to protecting privacy and improving transparency of the surveillance programs.