Merkel wants tough EU line on Internet firms after spying outcry

[EC]

Via Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/14/us-germany-spying-merkel-idUSBRE96D09D20130714

(Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed on Sunday to push for tougher EU data protection rules and force Internet firms to be more open as she tried to reassure voters before a September election about intrusive snooping by U.S. intelligence in Germany.

In an interview with ARD television, Merkel also said she expected the United States to stick to German laws in future, the closest she has come to acknowledging that its spying techniques may have breached German rules.

The question of how much Merkel and her government knew about reports of intrusive surveillance by the U.S. National Security Agency in Germany has touched a raw nerve and could yet affect the outcome of September's election.

Merkel said tighter European rules were needed.

"Germany will make clear that we want Internet firms to tell us in Europe who they are giving data to," she told ARD.

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