PRIVACY is a thorny issue. And the level of intrusion by the state in the private lives of its citizens differs from country to country. In recent years terrorist threats have driven many governments to enact laws that erode privacy. Technological advances have made this job all the easier. Countries with fewer enemies, or less cash, tend to afford their citizens more privacy. The result is that the world is becoming a less private place, though not necessarily any safer.

Comments are welcome on The Economist's online security v privacy debate, the first of a series on digital freedom.

AFP