National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden has written an `` open letter to the people of Brazil '' offering to help investigate U.S. surveillance of Brazilian citizens . The letter was posted on the website pastebin and on the Facebook page of David Michael Miranda , partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald , according to a tweet from Greenwald . In the letter , Snowden says he has told Brazilian lawmakers that he is willing to help investigate `` suspected crimes against Brazilian citizens . '' `` I have expressed my willingness to assist wherever appropriate and lawful , but unfortunately the United States government has worked very hard to limit my ability to do so -- going so far as to force down the Presidential Plane of Evo Morales to prevent me from traveling to Latin America ! `` Until a country grants permanent political asylum , the U.S. government will continue to interfere with my ability to speak . '' Morales challenges U.S. after Snowden rumor holds up plane . The Brazilian government does not plan to respond to Snowden 's letter , according to an official in the press office of the Foreign Ministry . At this point , no new request for asylum has been received , so authorities also will have have no comment on speculation surrounding the possibility one could be forthcoming , the official said . An initial request was received in July , but it was a letter sent not by Snowden himself , but by Amnesty International to several countries . Brazil said then that it was not going to respond to the generic letter . Consternation in South America . Brazil has been in an uproar over reports of U.S. spying . In September , Brazilian lawmakers said they planned to send a commission to Russia to speak with Snowden , who had allegedly leaked information about U.S. spying against the country 's president . Foreign Minister Luiz Alberto Figueiredo called the situation `` an inadmissible and unacceptable violation of Brazilian sovereignty . '' Last month , Brazil acknowledged its own past snooping . The newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo revealed that Brazil spied on foreign diplomats inside Brazil in 2003 and 2004 . Its targets included officials from Russia , Iran and the United States . `` I see the situations as completely different , '' Brazilian Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo told the paper . Judge : NSA domestic phone data-mining unconstitutional . In his letter , Snowden , a former NSA contractor , writes , `` Today , if you carry a cell phone in Sao Paolo , the NSA can and does keep track of your location : they do this 5 billion times a day to people around the world . When someone in Florianopolis visits a website , the NSA keeps a record of when it happened and what you did there . If a mother in Porto Alegre calls her son to wish him luck on his university exam , NSA can keep that call log for five years or more . They even keep track of who is having an affair or looking at pornography , in case they need to damage their target 's reputation . Opinion : Who really broke the law , Snowden or the government ? `` American Senators tell us that Brazil should not worry , because this is not 'surveillance , ' it 's 'data collection . ' They say it is done to keep you safe . They 're wrong . There is a huge difference between legal programs , legitimate spying , legitimate law enforcement -- where individuals are targeted based on a reasonable , individualized suspicion -- and these programs of dragnet mass surveillance that put entire populations under an all-seeing eye and save copies forever . These programs were never about terrorism : they 're about economic spying , social control , and diplomatic manipulation . They 're about power . '' Snowden to testify to panel of European Parliament . Snowden has agreed to testify , via teleconference , before a civil liberties committee of the European Parliament , sources in the Parliament say . Some within the Parliament opposed the invitation , but the majority supported the idea , the sources said . The testimony may take place in January , they said . It 's unsure whether Snowden would testify live or would be pre-recorded , the sources said , adding that his testimony is expected to cover all aspects of NSA surveillance internationally . Obama to meet with tech bosses after judge rules on NSA data-mining .
The Brazilian government does not plan to respond to open letter , an official says . Snowden has agreed to testify via video to a European Parliament panel , sources say . His open letter was posted online in two places , according to journalist Glenn Greenwald . Snowden mentions the need for asylum .