BERLIN
The Big Brother threat frightens Germans more than the terror threat.
According to a recent survey, 67 percent of Germans view surveillance of their Internet activity by foreign secret services as the biggest threat to their freedom.
Control of Internet companies ranked second on the list of threats to freedom, with 61 percent of Germans concerned about these firms sharing their personal data with governments, according to the annual “Freedom Index Germany” survey conducted by the John Stuart Mill Institute and the Allensbach Institute.
Concerns over sharing of user data with other private companies ranked third on the list, with 61 percent of Germans expressing fears.
International terrorism ranked as only the fourth largest threat to freedom, with 60 percent of citizens feeling threatened.
1550 Germans citizens, were polled in April this year, and the group was selected to reflect the demographic composition of the German population.
Clearly, the report concludes, the National Security Agency scandal last year has had an important effect on German perceptions.
Top secret files leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden had revealed last year that the U.S. National Security Agency had carried out digital surveillance in Germany. According to Snowden, the NSA had collected about half a billion communications each month from Germany.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and various leading German politicians were also targeted by the NSA surveillance, according to reports by Bild newspaper and weekly newsmagazine Der Spiegel.
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