Interesting article: Privacy: Why Europe ... / 2012-11-22

Interesting article: Privacy: Why Europeans Think You're Inadequate - securityweek.com about the differences in privacy rules in Europe and the US and the backgrounds behind them.

Good explanation:

Privacy in the US focuses from a legislative standpoint on preventing the theft of one’s identity, resulting in a negative financial impact. Privacy in the EU is far broader, not limited to financial concerns, and regulated by data protection authorities at the EU and country level.

And this one struck me:

When discussing the US/EU divide with a colleague from France, he asked me, “How many times has your country been occupied by a foreign power? Have you had your government and its agents spying on your own people and incentives for citizens to incriminate other citizens?” I got the message. The World Wars of the 20th century still echo in the levels of privacy demanded by citizens of the EU following years of having none. US citizens have been more fortunate with a fairly functional and stable democratic government trusted by its citizens.

Which describes exactly the reasons why I think the government should collect the absolute minimum of data about the personal lives of its citizens.