The United States has managed to annex the entire world through its mass surveillance practices, believes Julian Assange.

Speaking at a recent conference, Assange, the WikiLeaks founder that’s currently under Ecuadorian asylum in London, said that there was a need for an independent Internet infrastructure so that countries could maintain sovereignty and resist US control over communications.

He echoes the worries expressed by European leaders who seek to create a local network that should be immune to US attacks and efforts to intercept. The US has already criticized the idea, saying that such a measure would go against the trade treaties between them since US companies would not have access to this infrastructure.

“To a degree this is a matter of national sovereignty. The news is all flush with talk about how Russia has annexed the Crimea, but the reality is, the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, principally the United States, have annexed the whole world as a result of annexing the computer systems and communications technology that is used to run the modern world,” said Assange.

“So it’s a matter of national sovereignty. If there is not at least some national network that can be maintained in a moment of economic or political conflict with the United States, then there is simply too much leverage on nation states to be able to effectively defend the interests of their peoples,” Assange added.

It should also be mentioned that the United States has also criticized Canada’s government for deciding to have a unified email system, which prevented US companies from bidding.

On the other hand, reporting about NSA’s mass surveillance practices has caused quite a bit of stir in the world and has created a sort of resistance against US control, managing to shift the geopolitical forces of Europe.

The example that Assange gives is Germany, where both Angela Merkel and the local society are striving to demonstrate independence in relation to the United States.

New laws are the first step, but they should be followed by stronger encryption standards for telecommunication links and higher standards for security.

“Those standards need to be made proportional to the value of those telecommunication links or the amount of data being stored and the EU needs to push for that in retaliation to trade negotiations with other countries,” said the WikiLeaks founder.

Assange has been a vocal supporter of Edward Snowden and the leaks he has provided to the media, often warning about the United States’ capacity to spy on the entire world.