> I trust the government to not wilfully abuse the data far, far more than I trust any for-profit entity. The prime difference between American/British world v

> I trust the government to not wilfully abuse the data far, far more than I trust any for-profit entity. The prime difference between American/British world view and continental European one and I'm loving it. Sure, it's very nice to think that the government doesn't track you and doesn't know where you live. Then they build these giant systems to covertly track everyone and listen to everything. Essentially, everything that the Americans believe that the government wants to do to them is already being done - just clandestinely. On the European approach, we assume that the government is competent enough and is ours, therefore we give them the information needed to provide services and security. If the governments misbehave we will simply burn their palaces and drag them on the streets. IMHO, both approaches have merits and I'm happy that they exist at the same time. It kind of keeps the institutions on track as scandals happen and fixes are implemented in attempt of self preservation.