Since June, the Guardian has been publishing stories detailing the massive reach of the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs, from collecting the phone records of millions of American citizens to monitoring the phone calls of friendly world leaders. The revelations, based on documents provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden, have sparked political debate in the US, Europe and beyond about finding the right balance between civil liberties and security.

While intelligence chiefs in both the US and UK have defended the size and scope of their surveillance, the Obama administration has struggled to contain the growing domestic and international fallout. German chancellor Angela Merkel recently called the president, demanding an explanation over reports that the NSA was monitoring her phone. Obama has conceded that the agency’s programs need some reform and greater transparency, and there are no fewer than three major reform bills now being considered in Congress.

Amid the debates and discussion, many questions over the NSA's behavior and activities remain.

What questions about the surveillance operations do you have?

Guardian reporters who have been closely involved in the stories will answer readers' questions via @GuardianUS today from 1-2pm EST (6-7 BST).

Our panel will include senior correspondent Ewen MacAskill (@ewenmacaskill), who met with Snowden in Hong Kong, US national security editor Spencer Ackerman (@attackerman), special projects editor James Ball (@jamesrbuk) and diplomatic editor Julian Borger (@julianborger). Share your questions by tweeting with the hashtag #myNSAquestion, and our reporters will tweet you directly with an answer.

Selected questions and answers will be featured in real-time on this page during the chat using Twitter's new custom timeline tool:

Viewing in mobile? Scroll to the bottom of this story and click 'desktop version' to view the Twitter widget on your phone, or follow this link to the complete timeline on Twitter.