The Fourth Amendment is like Wayside Elementary School's Nineteenth Floor

"Each year since 1997, the US-based Electronic Privacy Information Center and the UK-based Privacy International have undertaken what has now become the most comprehensive survey of global privacy ever published. The Privacy & Human Rights Report surveys developments in 70 countries, assessing the state of surveillance and privacy protection. "

That's a quote from the overview of Privacy International's 2007 Privacy Rankings, where the US has achieved a black designated status of "endemic surveillance society." This is the lowest ranking possible. The US enjoys the company of Russia, UK, Thailand, China, Burma (Myanmar)... etc. This survey, completed by the above mentioned groups, ranks things like constitutional protection, statute protection, privacy enforcement, identity cards, government access to data, visual surveillance, communication interception, and other such criteria.

Last year the US was only in the pink designation of "extensive surveillance socieity," the second lowest classification.