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UK-based human rights group Privacy International (PI) published at the end of last year the 2007 ranking assessment of the state of privacy in 47 countries, including all European Union member states.

The raking is based on the Privacy & Human Rights reports produced since 1997 by PI together with US-based Electronic Privacy Information Center and is taking into consideration several criteria such as constitutional & statutory protection and privacy enforcement, biometric ID cards, data-sharing, video surveillance, communication interceptions and data retention.

According to the authors, the project wants to "recognize countries in which privacy protection and respect for privacy is nurtured. This is done in the hope that others can learn from their example" but also "to identify countries in which governments and privacy regulators have failed to create a healthy privacy environment. The aim is not to humiliate the worst ranking nations, but to demonstrate that it is possible to maintain a healthy respect for privacy within a secure and fully functional democracy."

The main findings of the study that includes a world map of the surveillance societies, show an overall worsening of privacy protection across the world, reflecting an increase in surveillance and a declining performance of privacy safeguards.

The rankings for 2007 prove a disturbing and increasing trend amongst governments to archive data on the geographic, communications and financial records of all their citizens and residents. This trend leads to the conclusion that all citizens, regardless of their legal status, are under suspicion.

The privacy trends have been fueled by the emergence of a profitable surveillance industry dominated by global IT companies and the creation of numerous international treaties that frequently operate outside judicial or democratic processes.

PI also claims that "surveillance initiatives initiated by Brussels have caused a substantial decline in privacy across Europe, eroding protections even in those countries that have shown a traditionally high regard for privacy." The general trend is the failure of the privacy performance for older democracies in Europe, while the performance of newer democracies is becoming generally stronger.

It is worth noting also that the worst ranking EU country is the United Kingdom, which again fell into the "black" category along with Russia and Singapore. However for the first time Scotland has been given its own ranking score and performed significantly better than England & Wales.

The 2006 leader, Germany, slipped significantly in the 2007 rankings, dropping from 1st to 7th place behind Portugal and Slovenia.

Leading surveillance societies in the EU and the World 2007 (28.12.2007)
http://www.privacyinternational.org/article.shtml?cmd³³0³=x-347-559597

Global Privacy Index Criticizes Falling Standards in Germany (7.01.2008)
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3036544,00.html