Brazil weighs giving email same protection as mail

Brazil's communications minister is proposing giving emails the same level of legal protection afforded to letters sent by mail.

Paulo Bernardo Silva says a measure that would criminalize reading someone else's email is to be included in a proposal regulating the use of civilian computers in Brazil, which is being debated in Congress.

Silva made the announcement in remarks before Congress Wednesday, according to a ministry statement.

The announcement comes on the heels of revelations that the U.S. National Security Agency's controversial surveillance programs have targeted Brazil. Rio de Janeiro's O Globo newspaper reported last month that the country is the NSA's top target in Latin America.

Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota expressed concerns about the issue during a meeting earlier this week with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

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