Freedom and Security--What are we giving up?

As I have been reading Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge, several interesting ideas have struck me.  One idea in particular that struck my interest was when Tommie Parker said that the people of that age had "traded freedom for security" (114).
What does that mean exactly?  Does not having a more digitized world where information and entertainment is constantly available, and reality is layered through a virtual world, give more freedom because more information is accessible?  Would not security be what is compromised as more and more personal information is readily accessible along with all other data?

Then I got to thinking how maybe the freedom they are talking about is a compromise of the freedom to live with or without technology, the ability to go a day without "wearing" or in our day, perhaps, without a cell phone, etc.  Are we becoming less and less able, as we enter a more digital age, to make our own decisions without the aide of external, technological devices?  Or is the technology available to us actually increasing our freedoms by allowing us to access information on any given subject at any given time?  To whom are we giving our control?  Who has the power?
What do you think?