German lawmakers probing the surveillance activities of the U.S. National Security Agency have uncovered a legal loophole that allows the country's foreign intelligence agency to spy on its own citizens.

The agency, known by its German acronym BND, is normally forbidden from eavesdropping on Germans or German companies.

But a former BND lawyer told Parliament this week that Germans aren't protected while working abroad for foreign companies.

The government confirmed Saturday to The Associated Press that work-related calls or emails are attributed to the employer. If the employer is foreign, the BND can intercept them.

Opposition lawmakers have accused Germany's government of feigning outrage over alleged NSA spying while condoning illegal surveillance itself.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel complained to U.S. President Barack Obama in October after receiving information her phone may have been monitored. (Michael Kappeler/Associated Press)

Chancellor Angela Merkel complained to U.S. President Barack Obama in October after receiving information her phone may have been monitored.

News magazine Der Spiegel, whose research prompted the government's response, reported that a document apparently from an NSA database indicates Merkel's cellphone was first listed as a target in 2002.

Push for end to eavesdropping

The Obama administration's rebuttal to outrage has been that the U.S. is gathering foreign intelligence of the type gathered by all nations and that it's necessary to protect the U.S. and its allies against security threats.

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Germany and France have demanded that the Obama administration agree by year's end to new rules that could mean an end to reported American eavesdropping on foreign leaders, companies and innocent citizens.

A European Parliament committee in Brussels approved sweeping data protection rules that would strengthen online privacy and outlaw the kind of data transfers the U.S. is using for its spying program.

European lawmakers have called for the suspension of an agreement that grants U.S. authorities access to bank data needed for terror-related investigations.

"We need trust among allies and partners," said Merkel. "Such trust now has to be built anew."