Here in Sweden for instance, public space can't legally be covered by CCTV without a permit. That means private entities can't just throw up cameras at random. Of course it happens anyway, but it's not "nearly everywhere".
And that's true in many other Europeans countries as well. And at least here in Portugal those permits only allow you to store those records for a specific purpose (security), for a limited time period (30 days) and can't be shared with third-parties.
Which are often out of view, at a distance, and at a high angle - definitely different than someone looking at you with a camera lens. Just ask someone to hold their phone's camera next to their head while they talk to you, you'll see.
I was in the train yesterday and there was a guy sitting across me, somewhat elderly so he held his phone up high. Looked like he was taking a picture of me (which he probably wasn't), which was awkward.
In the US, maybe. In the UK, definitely. In Germany, not so much.
Mind you, in Germany you're also not allowed to take pictures of people without their consent (with some exceptions). You could actually sue people who post pictures of you on Facebook without your permission.
