In the case of the US, the government is bound by due process, at least theoretically, which makes it far less likely to hurt me than private entities.
Granted, that may not be the case when it comes to China.
Granted, that may not be the case when it comes to China.
Whistle blowers and activists being harassed, surveilled or infiltrated by law enforcement or not a single person being held to account after the NSA revelations is 'due process'. Users being spied and stalked on by an assortment of SV companies and state agencies via the internet, phones, facial recognition, licence plates do not seem to have access to the basic right to privacy or any recourse to due process.
These binary statements about 'rule of law', 'due process', dissent, democracy comes across as theoretical and disconnected from the complexity and events in the real world.