In any free society, governments should strike a careful balance when it comes to national security. While it must always be their first duty to do what they can to protect the public from terrorists, they should also strive to ensure that liberty and democracy are not ignored in the process.
This week’s revelations that the US federal authorities routinely snooped on telephone calls and data communications is troubling precisely for what is says about the absence of such balance.
The US government has in recent years acquired a formidable arsenal of surveillance powers. The Patriot Act, passed immediately after the 9/11 attacks, gave Washington sweeping rights to look over people’s shoulders at their telephone records.
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