Welcome to our hub for all Edward Snowden, NSA and GCHQ-related developments around the world, as controversy over revelations leaked by the whistleblower continue to make headlines. As arguments rage over how much of our day to day life should be monitored in the name of security, we'll be tracking the growing global debate about privacy in the digital age. We'd like to know what you think about the whole NSA story, what you're worried about – and any new areas you'd like to read more about.  Here are this morning’s headlines:  • John Kerry, the US secretary of state, conceded that some of the country's surveillance activities had gone too far, saying that certain practices had occurred "on autopilot" without the knowledge of senior officials in the Obama administration.  In the most stark comments yet by a senior administration official, Kerry promised that a previously announced review of surveillance practices would be thorough and that some activities would end altogether.  "The president and I have learned of some things that have been happening in many ways on an automatic pilot, because the technology is there and the ability is there," he told a conference in London via video link.  "In some cases, some of these actions have reached too far and we are going to try to make sure it doesn't happen in the future."  • The director of the NSA, General Keith Alexander, blamed US diplomats for requests to place foreign leaders under surveillance.  During a pointed exchange with a former US ambassador to Romania, James Carew Rosapepe, Alexander said: "We, the intelligence agencies, don't come up with the requirements. The policy-makers come up with the requirements."  He added: "One of those groups would have been, let me think, hold on, oh: ambassadors."  • The debate continued in Washington about whether further legal constraints should be placed on the NSA. The Senate intelligence committee approved a bill that placed largely cosmetic restrictions on the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance programme. The bill, sponsored by committee chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, allows the NSA continue to collect phone metadata of millions of Americans for renewable 90-day periods, but orders it to be more transparent about the practice.  • In a separate development on Thursday, a group of technology giants called for substantial reforms to the US government's surveillance programmes. The companies were furious about revelations this week – the latest to emerge from documents leaked by the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden – that the agency had intercepted the cables that link the worldwide data centres belonging to Google and Yahoo. It was also reported that Obama had ordered the NSA to stop eavesdropping on the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. The NSA's surveillance of the IMF and World Bank has not previously been disclosed.  • Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa says it is "not cricket" for Australia to spy on the region at the behest of the United States, adding he has sought clarification from his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop on an important issue of "trust".  • In Britain, the director general of MI5, Andrew Parker, was criticised by a Conservative MP and former Foreign Office lawyer for suggesting that the Guardian's reporting of the National Security Agency files has provided a gift to terrorists. Dominic Raab said the files leaked by the US whistleblower Edward Snowden had highlighted the reach of British and US intelligence agencies and had not disclosed interception techniques or sources. I live-blogged the whole debate here.  • Edward Snowden may be invited to Germany as a witness against the US National Security Agency.  Action is under way in the Bundestag to commission a parliamentary investigation into US intelligence service spying and a German politician met Snowden in Moscow on Thursday to discuss the matter.  Hans-Christian Ströbele, the veteran Green party candidate for Berlin's Kreuzberg district, reported that the US whistleblower was prepared in principle to assist a parliamentary inquiry.  But Ströbele warned of the legal complications that would come with Snowden leaving Russia, where he has been granted asylum after leaking documents on mass NSA surveillance. Witnesses to parliamentary enquiries are usually given the financial support and legal protection required for them to travel to Germany.  We’ll have all this and more throughout the day today.
Live coverage as German politician reveals content of letter from NSA whistleblower to German chancellor whose phone he revealed had been monitored by the US for a decade • New readers start here • What do the NSA Files mean for you? • Read a summary of today's key events