Documents related to the alleged mass surveillance of the Internet by U.K. state agencies should be published by the European Commission, according to a recommendation by the EU’s ombudsman.

A German journalist requested access to documents relating to mass surveillance in June last year. He argued that they should be made public because EU citizens have the right to be informed about discussions between the U.K. government and the Commission concerning alleged mass Internet surveillance by U.K. intelligence service GCHQ.

GCHQ, together with its U.S. counterpart the National Security Agency, reportedly developed the ability to switch on microphones or cameras on user’s mobile phones and listen to phone calls and track locations. Telephone and Internet traffic that passes through undersea fiber-optic cables was allegedly also tapped for mass interception.

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