UN to contact AT&T following spying report

The United Nations will contact US telecom giant AT&T following a report confirming that the company had helped the US National Security Agency (NSA) wiretap online communications at the world body's headquarters, a spokeswoman said on Monday.

"There will be contacts with AT&T," Xinhua quoted the UN spokeswoman Vannina Maestracci as saying.

"The inviolability of the UN is well established under international law, and we expect member states to act accordingly and to respect and protect that inviolability," she said.

The US had previously assured the UN that they would not monitor UN communications, Maestracci said.

The New York Times published a story confirming that AT&T had helped the NSA spy on vast swathes of internet traffic, including online UN communications.

It remained unclear whether the programmes are still working today, the newspaper said.

"We do not provide information to any investigating authorities without a court order or other mandatory process other than if a person's life is in danger and time is of the essence," company spokesman Brad Burns said in response to The New York Times report.