What would another country gain from spying on another country’s citizens, rather than said country’s government?

Question

What would another country gain from spying on another country’s citizens, rather than said country’s government?

In: 1

Answer 1

Espionage *is* conducted against government bodies and representatives, but in recent years business, trade, and technology secrets and skills have been regarded as higher-value interests, and a lot of that kind of information can be obtained by monitoring (specific) ordinary citizens. Ordinary citizens also play a role in civil unrest so it makes sense to broadly monitor them (and possibly agitate them) in countries where foreign governments have vested interests.