The US, the UK, China and Russia are 鈥渆ndemic surveillance societies鈥�, according to a recent study examining privacy protection around the world that gave the four nations the lowest possible rating.
The 10th annual report showed a global increase in surveillance and a decline in privacy safeguards during 2007, as concerns over immigration and border control continued to dominate national policy agendas.
, published by advocacy groups of the UK and the in the US gave Britain the 鈥渂lack鈥� or 鈥渆ndemic鈥� ranking for the second year in a row.
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Gus Hosein, of Privacy International, justified the UK鈥檚 low ranking, noting that the country has the world鈥檚 largest network of surveillance cameras, plans for national identity cards rich with personal and biometric information, and little government accountability when personal information is lost.
鈥淭his government has access to its people and technology that China doesn鈥檛,鈥� says Hosein. 鈥淚t really is that bad here.鈥�
Mediocre standards
The US fell to the bottom rung for the first time this year due to increasing government surveillance and decreasing federal oversight.
Political shifts in Congress that were expected to bolster personal protection had little effect. The Bush administration was specifically called out for tapping international phone calls and emails without a warrant for those with suspected links to terrorists.
The only country judged to have 鈥渁dequate safeguards鈥� was Greece, a country with relatively strong privacy rights and an independent Data Privacy Authority. It has the power to impose fines or even imprison government officials for breaches in personal information procedures.
鈥淭hey are by no means great, but nowadays mediocre is what passes for amazing,鈥� says Hosein of Greece鈥檚 privacy safeguards.
Technological advances
Part of the problem may be technology advancing faster than government safeguards. 鈥淭here is a rapid expansion of technologies for surveillance, identification, and border control and a much slower adoption of policies to safeguard privacy and security,鈥� says Marc Rotenberg, of the .
Despite their low ratings, the US and UK do not compromise privacy as much as China or Russia, says John Palfrey, of the , an international academic research group that monitors government internet filtering and surveillance. Yet, he is troubled by the way governments can anonymously monitor internet traffic.
鈥淓ven democratic societies don鈥檛 make clear to their citizens how comprehensively governments reach into the private lives of individuals,鈥� says Palfrey. 鈥淲e have no way of knowing what our government can come to know about us as private citizens.鈥�
In a related blow to free speech, China announced new internet censorship policies last week that will severely restrict all video sharing websites such as that are not state controlled.
