The federal government has the ability to spy on about 75 percent of all US Internet traffic, according to a new report.

The information is gathered through a far-reaching surveillance system built by the National Security Agency — which is legally limited in its investigative scope, current and former US officials told The Wall Street Journal.

The amount of online activity e-mail correspondence and online chats that the officials say the agency can monitor is more than had been publicly disclosed.

The NSA is allowed to infiltrate citizens’ Internet use to gather foreign intelligence, officials say.

The agency’s intelligence-gathering centers on communications that either start or end overseas. But some domestic activity is likely to be retained.