The introduction discusses the emergence of surveillance societies, followed by five case studies of surveillance and privacy protection in each of the five countries. The focus is on the work of the officials charged with protecting privacy in each country, whether through formal agencies such as exist in Sweden, Canada, France, and the Federal Republic of Germany, or civil servants administering privacy laws at the Federal level such as in the United States. The information presented is drawn from government documents and interviews with agencies' leaders and staff during the 1980's. Each case study explores the data protection model adopted by the country and the model's organizing principles and practical application. Each regulatory agency's particular characteristics are assessed in terms of its functional independence and its exercise of power. The special difficulties of handling controversial data protection issues are addressed. The study's conclusions are prescriptive for the future of data protection, based on the problems and successes in managing the issue. Chapter notes, subject index. (Publisher summary modified)