[ajayjain]

A quote from that link:

"So where the hated Stasi surveillance was a building in area, the NSA surveillance today is an entire continent."

And:

"As a final note, the word Stasi was a contraction of the East German surveillance agency’s full name, Ministerium für Staatssicherheit. It translates to National Security Agency." (Google translate says Ministry of State Security).

In the French revolution, the group pretty much playing the role of government during the Reign of Terror with many beheadings every day was called the Committee of Public Safety. The original or supposed reason these organizations claim to exist seems to be a justification to claim power and rights from the population.