The European Union (EU) is worried about a top-secret American surveillance program that has spied on its citizens. "Surveillance" means looking at the daily actions of spies and criminals. EU officials are angry that the program (called PRISM) spied on normal EU citizens. The company that operates PRISM accessed millions of e-mails and personal data from Google, Facebook, Apple and other e-mail providers. EU spokesman Tonio Borg said the EU wants the USA to promise it will respect the rights of European citizens. He said the USA must not look at the personal information of Europeans. He is angry because US laws say PRSIM cannot spy on Americans, unless they are possible terrorists.

PRISM has the power to get the emails and phone records of non-US nationals. It can also tap into voice chat, videos and social networking details. A reporter from Britain's "The Guardian" newspaper said PRISM workers could access anyone's emails or phone calls at any time. Dutch lawmaker Sophia Veld said: "500 million Europeans were shocked to find a foreign nation has access to every intimate detail of their private lives." A former CIA worker, Edward Snowden, 29, leaked secret documents about the surveillance program to "The Guardian" last week. Mr Snowden is currently in hiding in Hong Kong. The USA says he has broken the law. Moscow has said Snowden may be able to live safely in Russia.