The US has crossed the line

US Prism Scandal: 'Security Is Not an End in Itself'


A Commentary by German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger
une 11, 2013 – 11:12 AM

How much monitoring is too much and at what point does freedom become compromised? With its Prism spy program, the US has crossed the line.



On the weekend, President Obama reacted by saying that it is impossible to have 100 percent security and 100 percent privacy and zero inconvenience.

I don't share this view. The more a society monitors, controls and observes its citizens, the less free it is. In a democratic constitutional state, security is not an end in itself, but serves to secure freedom.

A Reasonable Balance


To summarize: As much as we want counterterrorism efforts to be effective, there has to be a reasonable balance between security and the freedom of citizens. The Patriot Act significantly limited the civil rights of Americans.

　告発はされたものの、まだ、実態が明らかになっていないので論評は控えるべきだと思うが、自由を特に重視する立場、安全保障は自由の擁護のためにあり、そのために自由が犠牲にされるべきではない、という立場からすれば、言われるようなことがおきていれば、本末転倒で、当然、一線を越えてしまった、と言えよう。