Glenn Greenwald, the American journalist who first published the documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden tells an EU inquiry that the NSA's goal, along with its UK partner, theGCHQ, is to eliminate individual privacy worldwide.

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM  (REUTERS) - Glenn Greenwald, the American journalist who first published the documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden told an EU inquiry on Wednesday (December 18) that the NSA's goal, along with its UK partner, the GCHQ, is to eliminate individual privacy worldwide.

Snowden revealed the massive phone record collection to U.S. and British media in June. Documents provided by Snowden showed that a U.S. surveillance court had secretly approved the collection of millions of raw daily phone records in America, such as the length of calls and the numbers that are dialed.

Greenwald called the collection of metadata, part of the National Security Agency's so-called metadata counter terrorism program, a far more invasive practice than phone and email snooping.

"When it come to European metadata, the NSA plays a very important role but it is the UK through their interception of underwater fiber optic cables and their invasion into all sorts of systems including by very controversial means of hacking as Der Spiegel has reported, that is a primary threat to the privacy of European citizens when it comes to their telephone and email communications as least as much if not more so than the NSA."

The former Guardian columnist, based in Brazil, was also critical of what he called the EU governments' passive reaction to the revelations about the NSA's mass surveillance, saying it was 'disappointing' to see European governments turn their backs on Snowden.