BERLIN (REUTERS) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel told US President Barack Obama on Wednesday that government monitoring of Internet communications needed to remain within proper limits.

"I made clear that although we do see the need for gathering information, the topic of proportionality is always an important one and the free democratic order is based on people feeling safe," Merkel said at a joint news conference with Obama.

"That's why the question of balance and proportionality is something we will continue to discuss and where we have agreed further exchange of information between the German Interior Ministry and the authorities concerned in the United States."