I understand what you're saying, though it's still whataboutism that tries to compare apples to pears. The USA essentially still cares about your privacy and individual rights. China doesn't. In the USA, where there are infractions on privacy (and sadly there are some), it can be openly criticised, discussed and possibly changed democratically. In China that's simply not the case.
This would be more convincing if Snowden has never spoken up. But my assumption nowadays is that the US government (and many others) are looking at essentially anyone of interest to them. We're living in a golden era of surveillance. It's never been so cheap to surveil so many people.
True that, but... You can do it too! :D I'm sure most people in here are acquainted with the graph database. Or with just about any tool to scrape the net for info. I'm just surprised more people aren't doing it. After all, it's a great way to keep tabs on your local politicians, investors and your neighbour's cat. Come on guys, let's party like it's DDR!
