The most spied upon people in Europe: Germany's highest court has ruled that spying on personal computers violates privacy, but governments across Europe are under pressure to help their security services fight terrorism and organised crime.
Here, BBC reporters give a snapshot of the extent of surveillance across Europe.
"The threat of terrorism has forced the German government to take stricter measures"
Paul Kirby on Germany
"Privacy campaigners say the UK has some of the world's leading surveillance systems"
Dominic Casciani on the UK
"On the whole, the French are not big fans of surveillance equipment."
Emma Jane Kirby on France
"Italians are among the most spied upon people in the world, says the Max Planck Institute"
David Willey on Italy
"Greece has such strong constitutional protection against state sponsored spying"
Malcolm Brabant on Greece
"CCTV monitoring, while extensive in other parts of Europe, is not widespread"
Julian Isherwood on Denmark
