> while in 2023 assembly required no permit and freedom of expression was guaranteed, by 2024, covering one's face was considered an administrative offense, and the penalty for blocking a road rose from 500 to 5,000 GEL. In 2025, both acts became criminal offenses

Unfortunately Europe is doing no better regarding surveillance [1,2,3]. Only the repression is not yet so harsh (arguably).

(This complaint should be interpreted as the opposite of whataboutism - it makes the problem worse and more urgent in both places, since there is no more safety to flee to, or to point to as examples of freedom.)

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-mask_law

[2] https://euperspectives.eu/2025/08/surveillance-becoming-norm...

[3] https://www.politico.eu/article/data-retention-europe-mass-s...