Is the west becoming more authoritarian?

After 9/11, the US and most western countries embarked on sweeping legislation for anti-terror purposes. However, those powers have been expanded significantly, as Edward Snowden and the UK internet filters show. Do you think that over the next few years, Pravin Lal's warning in Alpha Centauri will become more accurate?

via JREF Forum http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=270433&goto=newpost