25 Years of Mass Surveillance Is Enough

Over 25 years since 9/11, mass surveillance has evolved from a targeted national security tool into a routine law enforcement and private sector practice used by ICE, police, and companies through facial recognition and license plate readers. The government primarily obtains mass surveillance data through private companies—from tech giants collecting user behavior to data brokers selling information to the FBI—creating a pipeline where expanded corporate data collection directly enables broader government surveillance. Despite the lack of comprehensive evidence that mass surveillance actually prevents terrorism or crime more effectively than targeted methods, the practice has expanded significantly as AI technology improves the scale and analysis capabilities.