U.S. ranks with China on privacy invasion

In its most recent annual survey of 70 countries, Privacy International ranks the United States — along with China, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United Kingdom — among the worst performers in terms of protecting the privacy of its citizens. These eight nations qualify as "endemic surveillance societies," in which privacy-invasive laws, policies, and regulations are pervasive and systemic. According to the report, "concern over immigration and border control dominated the world agenda in 2007," and the 2007 rankings "indicate an overall worsening of privacy protection across the world."

Bob Barr comments for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution