Britain goes Big Brother

What would George Orwell think? In the famous futurist's native land, Big Brother really is watching. Britain is now among the most spied-upon societies today, right up there with Russia, China and Singapore, according to a survey by Privacy International, a civil liberties group.

The nation has been labeled an "endemic surveillance" society. The average Brit is captured on film about 300 times a day, not surprising in a country with over four million security cameras. And more watching is on the way. The government is proceeding with plans for biometric identity cards and Tony Blair wants to expand the police's DNA database.

According to the 37-country survey, Canada and Germany scored highest for safeguarding liberties. Kind of comforting that.