In the name of security ...

Privacy International has published an international survey assessing privacy and state surveillance around the world. Forty-eight countries are ranked according to 14 criteria including constitutional protection, ID cards, data-sharing, communication interception, workplace monitoring, border issues, and others.

Eight countries are highlighted as having the worst practices overall. They are Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

There are three particularly disquieting aspects to PI's findings:

The first is that the United States is now squarely among those deemed "endemic surveillance societies." In other words, it's not a question of one or the other questionable policy, or some "bad apples" or "rogue elements" acting on their own. Under George Bush, fear is used by the government to justify both domestic and international policies that are diametrically opposite the freedom and democracy rhetoric that Bush is so fond of mouthing.

Second, the situation in many countries is worsening. Privacy International grades the situation in 14 countries as "deteriorating" or "decaying," compared with the previous year. Only one, Slovenia, is judged to be "improving."

The assessment establishes seven categories, ranging from "endemic surveillance societies" at the bottom to "consistently upholds human rights standards." Here's the depressing point: no countries are ranked in that or the second-best category ("significant protections and safeguards"). Only one country--Greece--makes it into the third-best category ("adequate safeguards against abuse"). A skeptic might argue that the assessment doesn't cover all the countries in the world, and so a fuller picture might be more encouraging. But a look at PI's map shows that countries not represented are primarily from Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia--not areas known for their civil liberties.

So it's a brave new world out there. In the name of security and the "war on terror," increasingly our every move is being watched and recorded. The realm of unadulterated civil liberties and human rights is shrinking. It's worth to remember Benjamin Franklin's warning: "Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both."