How does such spying jive with the following? What, after all, do we mean by Western civilization? What was Churchill driving at in his definition, quoted abov

How does such spying jive with the following? What, after all, do we mean by Western civilization? What was Churchill driving at in his definition, quoted above? There are three irreducible elements. First, the rule of law. The government of the day doesn’t get to set the rules. Those rules exist on a higher plane, and are interpreted by independent magistrates. The law, in other words, is not an instrument of state control, but a mechanism open to any individual seeking redress. Not only are the governments setting the rules, they are denying individuals seeking redress. Worse, with gag orders, we can't even know if redress is owed.