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Who Watches the Watchers? Unchecked surveillance is not safety—it’s soft tyranny.

by Becky Romero

There’s a dangerous lie circulating in our political bloodstream: that if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.
Let me be absolutely clear—privacy is not a privilege granted by the state. It is a right, intrinsic and unalienable, grounded in the Fourth Amendment and the very principle of liberty. Yet we are witnessing, again and again, the erosion of that right—by surveillance systems that grow ever more sophisticated, by legal loopholes that politicians eagerly exploit, and by a government increasingly comfortable outsourcing its dirty work to private corporations.

This didn’t begin with the Patriot Act, but it certainly accelerated there. After 9/11, many in Congress panicked and signed away constitutional safeguards in the name of security. Secret courts rubber-stamped blanket surveillance warrants. Metadata from millions of Americans was hoovered up indiscriminately. The Constitution was not consulted. The people were not informed. And even today, many Americans remain unaware that the Patriot Act allows the government to seize records—including those held by banks, libraries, and even doctors—without requiring probable cause.

History shows us the cost of looking the other way.

J. Edgar Hoover's FBI spied on civil rights leaders, journalists, and political dissidents using illegal wiretaps and blackmail. He compiled secret files on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and tried to destroy him. No one elected Hoover. No one could stop him. He operated above the law, weaponizing surveillance as a tool of coercion and control.

Then came President Richard Nixon, whose "enemies list" targeted anyone he deemed disloyal—from reporters to sitting members of Congress. He deployed the machinery of the federal government to surveil and punish political opponents. Sound familiar? It’s what happens when surveillance is no longer about security—but about power.

And today, the playbook has simply become more digitized.

Rather than go through the trouble of obtaining a warrant, government agencies now buy your personal data from third-party data brokers—companies that track your phone, your apps, your searches, your purchases, your location. That’s how authorities have tracked women who travel across state lines seeking abortions. Even when the government doesn’t violate state laws outright, it sure as hell finds ways to sidestep them.

This isn't hypothetical. This is happening.

In some states, women have been interrogated and criminalized after seeking reproductive care. In one case, a teen and her mother were prosecuted after Meta (Facebook) handed over their private messages to Nebraska law enforcement. Imagine thinking your DMs are private only to find them weaponized against you in court.

We've seen women illegally strip-searched, sometimes forcibly. It happened when Michael Bloomberg was mayor of New York City, and it continues to happen today. This was more than Bloomberg just wanting to see if McDonald’s was giving you a free refill of your pop. Young girls. Elderly women. Suspects who hadn’t been convicted of anything. Strip-searched and dehumanized. It's not a stretch to say we are criminalizing the female body under the guise of security and “order.”

And then there’s the Mount Vernon Police Department, a city just north of the Bronx. It not only had a policy to strip-search every person put under arrest, they also strip-searched people they did not place under arrest, as well as detaining and interrogating people without formally arresting them. Citizens were even arrested simply for verbally criticizing officers.

But government overreach isn't always as obvious as a wiretap, a scandal or a no-knock raid. It’s often quieter—and just as much or even more insidious.

And private surveillance isn’t any safer. Companies are using license plate readers at malls and shopping centers, storing where you go and when, and then selling that data. People have been stalked or harmed using Apple AirTags, which were intended to help find lost items—but have become another tool of control and harassment. Police departments have used Amazon Ring’s doorbell footage from neighbors to build informal surveillance networks—sometimes without warrants, and often without real oversight. And does it really need to be said what law enforcement has planned for drone usage?

We’ve seen this same dehumanizing pattern play out in fiction—but make no mistake, fiction warns us because reality is never far behind.

In 2002, NASA proposed using brainwave and body scanning technology at airports to detect passengers' "intent" to commit a terrorist act—literally trying to read travelers’ minds. Yes, really. The idea reads like dystopian science fiction. In fact, it mirrors the Psi Corps from Babylon 5—a government agency of telepaths used to scan the thoughts of citizens and root out disloyalty. In the show, privacy is obliterated, dissent is punishable, and even dreams aren’t safe.

In Babylon 5, Earth President Morgan Clark came to power not through democratic succession, but through a conspiracy that resulted in the assassination of his predecessor, President Luis Santiago (a plot Clark himself was complicit in). Once in office, Clark exploited fear and nationalism to consolidate his grip on power. He dismissed or replaced key military leaders, installing loyalists who would not question his increasingly autocratic orders. He weaponized the Psi Corps to monitor citizens’ thoughts and root out dissent before it could even be spoken. Anti-alien hysteria was fanned into public paranoia, providing a pretext for censorship, propaganda, mass arrests, and purges. Citizens were encouraged to report one another. What began as rhetoric about protecting Earth and preserving order quickly devolved into a full-blown descent into authoritarianism. Sound familiar? Under Clark, the Earth Alliance was transformed into a surveillance state where civil liberties were crushed under the weight of state security—and the line between loyalty and fear disappeared entirely.

The same cautionary themes echo in Continuum, where the dystopian threat isn’t just about government—it’s about privatized power run amok. Set partly in 2012 Vancouver and partly in a corporate-dominated future, the show reveals how even well-meaning institutions can slide into tyranny when fear, profit, and control converge.

Inspector Jack Dillon, head of the Vancouver Police Department in the present day, begins as a conventional law enforcement figure. But as terrorist attacks and unrest escalate, he adopts increasingly draconian tactics—targeting protestors, deploying invasive surveillance technologies, and working closely with corporate backers under the pretense of maintaining order. He even uses fear of violence to justify detentions and crowd control that bypass legal due process. The blueprint for this shift? The future that protagonist Kiera Cameron comes from: a society ruled not by elected governments, but by the Global Corporate Congress—a merger of economic and political power in which City Protective Services (CPS) replaced traditional law enforcement.

In 2077, the CPS isn’t accountable to the public. It answers to shareholders. Citizens are monitored constantly through biometric implants, ubiquitous surveillance, and predictive algorithms. Individual rights are subordinate to corporate interests, and anyone who questions the system is labeled a terrorist. Kiera, herself a CPS officer, believes she’s enforcing peace—but slowly realizes she's a tool of repression. Her orders are not about justice. They’re about control. Protest is criminalized. Dissent is crushed. And the façade of safety is maintained through a society where privacy is nonexistent and obedience is mandatory.

What makes Continuum chilling is that its dystopia doesn't rise from a dramatic coup or violent revolution—it evolves incrementally through “reasonable” compromises in the name of security, commerce, and efficiency. The show asks: What if law enforcement, the courts, and democracy itself were bought, branded, and privatized?

It’s not hard to see reflections of that world in our own: when police departments enter surveillance-sharing agreements with corporations, when private data firms track citizens without their consent, or when fear becomes a political currency used to pass laws that make us less free. Continuum doesn’t just imagine the future—it warns us of a path we’re already on.

We’re also heading down the road of turning citizens into surveillance tools themselves. That’s exactly what happened in Communist Romania under Nicolae Ceaușescu. The regime enlisted hundreds of thousands of informants to spy on their neighbors, coworkers—even members of their own family. People were imprisoned or disappeared not because of hard evidence, but because someone reported a "suspicious conversation" or a joke told in the wrong company. Surveillance metastasizes when fear becomes currency and when the neighbor next door becomes an unofficial agent of the state.

And once surveillance begins, innocent people always get caught in the net.

In North Carolina, a man was wrongfully implicated in a crime because of the misuse of cell tower location data—a method that’s wildly imprecise and often misinterpreted. The North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services has documented such cases, and courts are now scrutinizing “tower dumps,” where police collect data from everyone connected to a nearby tower—whether they’re suspects or not. The Washington Post reported that such practices have quietly swept up millions of Americans’ private data without their knowledge.

The most terrifying dystopias are the ones we willingly walk into with our eyes wide open. If we continue to trade liberty for convenience, or safety, or partisan gain, we will wake up in a country we no longer recognize. One where privacy is obsolete, where dissent is criminal, and where power justifies anything.

We must say no.
No to mass surveillance without warrants.
No to governments buying data from companies to skirt the law.
No to strip-searching women and girls like they're property.
No to mind-reading technology and bulk cell data grabs.
No to neighbors spying on neighbors in the name of security.
No to secret courts, secret files, and secret deals.
No to politicians who believe they’re entitled to our lives, our bodies, our thoughts.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Privacy is not a privilege. It’s a right. And if we don’t fight for it, we won’t lose it all at once—we’ll lose it piece by piece, click by click, silence by silence.

Let’s not wait until the last alarm has sounded.

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(c) 2025. Becky Romero
Permission is granted to republish in full online or in print so long as a link is provided back to this page and to BeckyRomero.com
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ArishMell · 70-79, M
There is a certain irony in all that and that signature block hints at it:

The biggest threat to our privacy and security, in democratic countries at least, is not science-ficrtion fearas about "brain scanners", poor-quality police forces allowed to act as they please, or even alleged "mass surveillance".

It is a combination of the few giant American and Chines, social-media companies, on-line retailers and advertising-agencies who have monopolised the Internet; and our personal use of the Internet.

Your signature block says your message is "Copyright Becky Romero".

For a start, if SW is anything like the major social-media, your message is its copyright, not yours even though you are the author and it is the publishers.

Secondly, does any copyright claim need your real name to have any real legal meaning, if so, is that your real name? Or would you make it available should a legal case arise over someone copying your essay without your or SW's permission? Almost everyone else here hides behind a nick-name; but very few ever try to claim copyright!

Anyone who spends his or her life grafted to a "smart"-phone and doing everything by wire, espcially if they use Meta, X and Goggle extensively, really has very little privacy but their enemy is not some government office or out-of-control local police force (unless of course fomenting suicide or criminal activity).

Instead it is the commercial world to whom we are a resource if we allow it - we cannot stop their interference and identity theft entirely, unfortunately, but we can reduce it.


I do not live in America and the situation differs considerably from country to country, but I fear Facebook, Amazon and their ilk far more than the police or government.


My precautions for my own privcy and security?

- I do not live glued to a "smart"-'phone.

- I use my portable telephone so infrequently and then usually briefly, that its PAYG costs are well under £50 a year.

- I do not imagine anyone might be trying to track me by my portable 'phone. It needs send a homing signal to its system simply to work, but that only tells the network which relay aeriels it is near. It does not not indicate where I am except implicitly. It does not indicate why I am there, nor whom I meet. I leave it switched off for most of the time; and am often in situations where I should or must turn it off anyway.

- I limit my Internet shopping to a very few instances. Apart from certain services (mainly motoring, insurance, health-care) most of that is only from small specialists relevant to my hobbies. I do not bank on-line.

- I refuse to use Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Amazon!

- I am cagey about what I write about myself on any social-medium including specialist fora.

- If I have a doorbell camera, I would not worry about the police examining any video from it, if investigating a crime in the vicinity.

- Nor do I worry about shop security and traffic-control, cameras. I welcome the former. I have been caught once by the latter, when I drove a short distance along what I had not known was a bus lane when I was lost in a city-centre late one night!

Oh - and I do not believe in "mind scanners". I leave that to Hollywood and conspiracy-dreamers.
ArishMell · 70-79, M
@beckyromero Thank you for explaining it.

I know some people have had problems with the big-name sites taking over their posts, and particularly such sites obstructing bereaved relatives' attempts to recover photographs, etc.
beckyromero · 36-40, F
@ArishMell
I know some people have had problems with the big-name sites taking over their posts, and particularly such sites obstructing bereaved relatives' attempts to recover photographs, etc.

As to SW, their terms explicitly state:

Sharing Your Content and Information
You own all of the content and information you post on SimilarWorlds.

As to photographs, etc., if a site's terms allow it, they could possibly be recovered by a relative who is the trustee of the deceased's estate. Of course, even better would be if people would back their stuff up and not rely on FB, Flickr, etc., to have the only copies.
ArishMell · 70-79, M
@beckyromero That may be true of SW but it seems not always true of Facebook etc. It could also be affected by differing national laws.

Oh, I agree, people should have their own archives, and not on what Microsoft calls "the cloud" (its own servers).

MS converted my PC from WIN-10 to WIN-11, and in trying to take over my many photographs it wrecked my filing-system and lost some photos. I have since recovered them, but it took a lot of work.
DeWayfarer · 61-69, M
While I totally agree with you on this, you didn't include the CODIS system in your analysis...

AI generated...
The argument regarding the CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) system can be framed within the broader context of privacy rights and government surveillance. Here are some specific points related to CODIS that align with the themes of the argument:

🧬 DNA as Personal Data

The inclusion of DNA profiles in CODIS raises significant privacy concerns. DNA is not just a piece of data; it contains deeply personal information about an individual and their genetic heritage. The argument emphasizes that retaining DNA profiles without consent or due process infringes on individual rights.

⚖ Legal Loopholes and Retention Policies

The retention of DNA profiles, even after exoneration, highlights the legal loopholes that allow for the continued surveillance of individuals who have been wrongfully convicted. The argument suggests that this practice reflects a broader trend of government overreach, where individuals are treated as suspects indefinitely, undermining the principle of innocent until proven guilty.

🔄 Lack of Automatic Removal

The absence of an automatic process for removing DNA profiles from CODIS after exoneration illustrates a systemic failure to protect individual rights. This aligns with the argument's assertion that privacy is not a privilege but a right that should be upheld by the state. The burden placed on individuals to navigate a complex removal process can be seen as a form of institutional neglect.

📜 Historical Context of Surveillance

The historical misuse of surveillance tools, as discussed in the argument, can be paralleled with the use of DNA databases. Just as past abuses of power involved illegal wiretaps and surveillance of political dissidents, the potential for misuse of DNA data by law enforcement raises similar ethical concerns. The argument suggests that history teaches us the dangers of allowing surveillance systems to operate without stringent oversight.

🔍 Government and Corporate Collaboration

The argument's critique of government agencies purchasing data from private companies can also apply to the use of DNA profiles. If law enforcement agencies can access DNA data without proper oversight, it raises questions about accountability and transparency in how this sensitive information is used. The potential for collusion between government and private entities in managing DNA data further complicates the issue of privacy.

🚫 A Call for Reform

The argument's call to action against mass surveillance and government overreach can extend to advocating for reforms in the CODIS system. This includes pushing for automatic removal of DNA profiles for exonerated individuals, ensuring that privacy rights are respected, and holding authorities accountable for the misuse of genetic data.

In summary, the discussion around CODIS fits within the larger narrative of protecting privacy rights against government surveillance and overreach. It underscores the need for vigilance and reform to ensure that individuals' rights are upheld in the face of advancing technology and evolving legal frameworks.

Most don't even know about this removal process much less actually do it. Yet it should be automatic removal from such systems.

This applies to other databases like ones kept by Oracle. You mentioned ancestry without saying Oracle is the one keeping ancestry's DNA database.

Yes the same company that stores Tiktok's data.
DeWayfarer · 61-69, M
@beckyromero This is what ChatGPT would add to your argument with the addition of Oracle...

The absence of specific references to Oracle's ties to Ancestry.com and TikTok's connections to Oracle in the argument is significant, especially considering the broader themes of privacy and surveillance. Here’s how these connections could enhance the discussion:

🔗 Oracle and Ancestry.com

Oracle's involvement with Ancestry.com raises important questions about data privacy and the commercialization of genetic information. Ancestry.com collects vast amounts of personal and genetic data from users, which could potentially be accessed or utilized by Oracle for various purposes. This relationship highlights several key points:

📊 Data Aggregation

The integration of genetic data with other personal information can lead to comprehensive profiles of individuals. This aggregation poses risks regarding how this data might be used, shared, or sold, potentially without users' informed consent.

🔍 Surveillance Potential

If government agencies can access data from companies like Ancestry.com through partnerships with firms like Oracle, it raises concerns about surveillance capabilities. The argument could emphasize that such relationships blur the lines between private data collection and government surveillance, further eroding privacy rights.

📱 TikTok and Oracle

The connection between TikTok and Oracle also warrants attention, particularly in the context of data privacy and national security concerns. TikTok, a platform owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, has faced scrutiny over its data practices. Oracle's involvement in managing TikTok's U.S. operations introduces several considerations:

🌐 Data Security

The partnership aims to address concerns about data security and the potential for foreign surveillance. However, it also raises questions about who ultimately controls user data and how it is managed. The argument could highlight that even with U.S. companies involved, the potential for misuse of data remains.

🔄 Corporate Surveillance

The relationship between TikTok and Oracle exemplifies the growing trend of corporate surveillance, where user data is collected and analyzed for profit. This aligns with the argument's critique of privatized power and the potential for corporations to exploit personal information, often without adequate oversight.

🚫 Implications for Privacy Rights

Incorporating these points into the argument would strengthen the case against the erosion of privacy rights. It would illustrate how the intertwining of government, corporate interests, and personal data collection creates a complex landscape where individual rights are increasingly at risk.

📣 A Call for Transparency

The argument could conclude with a call for greater transparency and accountability in how companies like Oracle handle personal data, especially in relation to government access. Advocating for stricter regulations on data sharing and privacy protections would align with the overarching theme of defending individual rights against encroachment.

By addressing these connections, the argument would provide a more comprehensive view of the current landscape of privacy, surveillance, and the implications of corporate partnerships in the digital age.
DeWayfarer · 61-69, M
@beckyromero Now add remove of persistence data from Oracle...

The connections between Oracle, Ancestry.com, TikTok, and other associated companies highlight a broader issue of data privacy and the challenges individuals face in managing their personal information. Here’s how these points can be integrated into the discussion:

🔗 Broader Corporate Network

Oracle's ties to Ancestry.com and TikTok are part of a larger web of corporate relationships that raise significant privacy concerns. These companies are not isolated; they often collaborate with various other firms, creating a complex ecosystem of data sharing and surveillance. This interconnectedness can lead to:

📊 Data Sharing Across Platforms

Many companies engage in data sharing agreements, allowing them to pool information from various sources. This means that personal data collected by one company can easily be accessed and utilized by another, often without the individual's knowledge or consent. The argument could emphasize that this practice exacerbates the erosion of privacy rights.

📱 Personal Experience with Data Removal

Your experience attempting to remove yourself from Oracle's database underscores the challenges individuals face in managing their personal information. Despite efforts to opt out or delete data, the reality is that:

🔄 Data Persistence

Data often reappears in databases shortly after removal attempts, highlighting the persistent nature of digital information. This raises questions about the effectiveness of current privacy laws and the ability of individuals to control their own data. The argument could stress that this persistence reflects a systemic issue where companies prioritize data retention over individual rights.

🚫 Lack of Transparency

The difficulty in removing personal data from databases like Oracle's points to a lack of transparency in how companies manage user information. Individuals may not fully understand the processes involved or the implications of their data being retained, which further complicates efforts to protect their privacy.

🌐 Implications for Privacy Rights

Incorporating these points into the argument would strengthen the case for advocating for stronger privacy protections and regulations. It highlights the need for:

📣 Comprehensive Data Protection Laws

There is a pressing need for laws that ensure individuals have clear rights regarding their data, including the ability to permanently remove their information from databases. This would empower individuals and help restore a sense of control over their personal information.

🔍 Accountability for Corporations

The interconnectedness of companies like Oracle, Ancestry.com, and TikTok necessitates greater accountability for how they handle personal data. The argument could call for stricter regulations on data sharing practices and transparency in corporate data management.

By addressing the broader corporate network and personal experiences with data removal, the argument would provide a more nuanced understanding of the challenges individuals face in protecting their privacy in an increasingly interconnected digital landscape.
beckyromero · 36-40, F
@DeWayfarer
While I totally agree with you on this, you didn't include the CODIS system in your analysis...

My essay was already getting long as it was.

I had thought about getting into the DNA concerns and internet privacy issues, but those could be entire essays by themselves. As well as China's "social credit system."
sunsporter1649 · 70-79, M
California has launched a snitch line where the public can report violations of the state’s styrofoam ban for food containers. The webpage was recently launched in order to allow for anonymous reporting of the producers of such products.

Since January 2025, the production and distribution of styrofoam foodware has been banned after the law was signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom. For the continued sale of the styrofoam containers, producers had to hit a 25 percent recycling rate, however, that standard was not met by January this year, per the Surfrider Foundation of California.

The state’s new reporting system reads like something from a totalitarian playbook. Citizens are encouraged to file detailed “incident reports.” They want business names, addresses, dates, and supporting documentation. The website even offers a confidentiality warning, assuring would-be informants they can remain anonymous while destroying local businesses.
beckyromero · 36-40, F
@sunsporter1649

Enforcement of state laws such as that should be done by trained and PAID state inspectors.

There's nothing wrong with allowing citizens to file complaints. But any fines should only be levied after official inspections. Otherwise, "informants" could too easily be disgruntled customers.
sunsporter1649 · 70-79, M
beckyromero · 36-40, F
@sunsporter1649

I'm already on record saying it's the litterbugs who are the problem. Not straws.

https://similarworlds.com/politics/5224349-Trump-signs-executive-order-restoring-plastic-straw-use-in
Tankies need to be tied to chairs and forced to listen to this.

 
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