The White House has admitted it needs to consider "constraints" on how it gathers intelligence after reports the US spied on more than 60 million phone calls in Spain and 46 million in Italy in one month alone.
Spain's El Mundo, citing documents provided by the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, said the agency monitored the phone calls from December 10, 2012, until January 8, 2013.
The monitoring did not appear to track the content of calls but their duration and where they took place, according to Spanish and Italian media reports.
The new claims come a week after Le Monde reported similar allegations of US spying in France, and German magazine Der Spiegel said Washington tapped Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone.
White House spokesman Jay Carney did not address the allegations directly but appeared to make an attempt to appease the European countries.
"With new capabilities, we recognise that there needs to be additional constraints on how we gather and use intelligence," he said.
The NSA allegedly listened in on Angela Merkel's phone calls While stressing that US spies must focus "above all" on threats to the American people, his words seemed to offer some recognition to the view that US espionage activities overstepped the mark.
"We need to ensure that we are collecting information not just because we can, but because we should, because we need it for our security," Mr Carney said.
Spain's government has so far said it was not aware its citizens had been spied on by the NSA, and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has said he is looking for more information.
Spain's European secretary of state and the US ambassador in Spain are scheduled to meet later.
A report in Bild am Sonntag said that Barack Obama knew three years ago that his intelligence service was eavesdropping on Ms Merkel's phone.
However, the NSA denied Mr Obama had been informed about the operation by the NSA chief in 2010, according to the Bild am Sonntag.
The US President spoke last week with the leaders of France and Germany in an effort to defuse the row.
John Kerry (L) met with Italy PM Enrico Letta (R) last week in Rome But Ms Merkel is sending intelligence officials to Washington to seek clarification.
The row exploded months ago when revelations by Snowden exposed the scope of the US government's spying operations.
It has deepened in recent weeks when details have emerged on the alleged snooping in foreign countries and US allies.
Washington officials have defended the surveillance programmes, part of US anti-terrorism efforts.
The chairman of the House of Representatives intelligence committee, Mike Rogers, said much of the public information on them was misguided.
"They are seeing three or four pieces of a thousand-piece puzzle and trying to come to a conclusion," he said.
Another official, Congressman Peter King, chairman of the House subcommittee on counter-terrorism and intelligence, said: "The President should stop apologising, stop being defensive."
"The reality is the NSA has saved thousands of lives, not just in the United States but also in France and Germany and throughout Europe," he said.
"We're not doing this for the fun of it.
"This is to gather valuable intelligence which helps not just us but also helps the Europeans."
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