I don't think that the issue is that people are opposed to a police force to gather and use using data effectively to protect it's own citizens. It's when they use a foreign agency to make and end-run around their own laws that is at issue. There are some fundamental differences between domestic and foreign surveillance.
Domestic intelligence has to comply with the country's own laws, ultimately created and supervised by a democracy (ideally). If the populace wants to error on the side of less safe and less surveillance, that's their decision.
Foreign intelligence is pretty much by definition 'criminal' in nature. As a theoretical example... a CIA agent using fake identities in foreign countries tapping phone lines is a criminal in the place where he is acting. Even when intercepting German <-> German communications on his own soil where it is technically 'legal' goes against the spirit of due process in Germany and may be illegal there. Should they be prosecuted? Can they? The answer is interesting but certainly tough to answer. Ideally friendly governments would understand this problem and try to protect their own citizens from spying by other 'friendly' governments through treaties... don't spy on my citizens and I won't spy on yours.
Unfortunately they do the exact opposite and transfer 'foreign intelligence' gathered by one country on a foreign citizen to the 'domestic intelligence' services where that citizen lives. This is a dance around the due process rules. You can't just contract out your law breaking to some foreign government or company.
Domestic intelligence has to comply with the country's own laws, ultimately created and supervised by a democracy (ideally). If the populace wants to error on the side of less safe and less surveillance, that's their decision.
Foreign intelligence is pretty much by definition 'criminal' in nature. As a theoretical example... a CIA agent using fake identities in foreign countries tapping phone lines is a criminal in the place where he is acting. Even when intercepting German <-> German communications on his own soil where it is technically 'legal' goes against the spirit of due process in Germany and may be illegal there. Should they be prosecuted? Can they? The answer is interesting but certainly tough to answer. Ideally friendly governments would understand this problem and try to protect their own citizens from spying by other 'friendly' governments through treaties... don't spy on my citizens and I won't spy on yours.
Unfortunately they do the exact opposite and transfer 'foreign intelligence' gathered by one country on a foreign citizen to the 'domestic intelligence' services where that citizen lives. This is a dance around the due process rules. You can't just contract out your law breaking to some foreign government or company.