Thirty years ago, one perceived element of moral superiority in the West was revelations of the extensive internal surveillance in places like East Germany and own-spying. There used to be news items and documentaries mocking this behavior and intimating how backward and uncouth those governments were to stoop to furiously wiretapping irrelevant private conversations.

So, whether the world has changed enough to justify it, people still do care and when adequately informed about some magistrate furiously eavesdropping on private matters, people universally recognize this is antisocial bizarre conduct.