US spy chief clarifies internet tapping policy

US spy chief James Clapper has admitted the government collects communications from internet firms, but says the policy only targets "non-US persons".

The director of national intelligence was responding to articles about an alleged secret programme, Prism, BBC reports.
The Washington Post said US agencies tapped directly into the servers of nine internet firms to track people.
But leading US internet giants denied giving government agents direct access to their central servers.

The reports about Prism will raise fresh questions about how far the US government should encroach on citizens' privacy in the interests of national security.

Earlier on Thursday, the National Security Agency (NSA) confirmed that it had been secretly collecting millions of phone records.