Obama defends US surveillance program as trade-off for security

President Barack Obama on Friday staunchly defended the sweeping US government surveillance of Americans' phone and internet activity, calling it a modest encroachment on privacy that was necessary to defend the United States from attack.

Obama said the programs were "trade-offs" designed to strike a balance between privacy concerns and keeping Americans safe from terrorist attacks. He said they were supervised by federal judges and Congress, and that lawmakers had been briefed. "Nobody is listening to your telephone calls. That's not what this program is about," Obama told reporters. (Reuters)