VasiAlex

27.02.2024

Written by Felipe Allende

No one knows the full extent of government surveillance, no matter which country you live in. However, if you are someone the government is interested in, then it’s highly likely that the government is watching you. We can assume their powers to monitor are nearly unlimited with unrevealed capabilities.

If you’re a “nobody,” while the government might not be actively interested in your every move, it’s still highly possible that your data is part of mass surveillance efforts and can be retrieved as needed. There are various ways for the government to surveil you, both online and in your real life.

Why does the government spy on us?

The reasons for governments spying on people could be split into two main categories.

Prevent crime and terrorism

A primary objective of government surveillance is said to be crime and terrorism prevention. By monitoring communications and analyzing data, governments can identify potential threats and intervene before they escalate into actual incidents.

This proactive approach aims to dismantle terrorist networks, prevent attacks, and reduce crime rates by tracking suspicious activities and individuals deemed a risk to public safety. However, it involves storing and analyzing vast amounts of data from different sources, including data brokers.

It’s highly debatable whether widespread surveillance through devices like CCTV actually increase public safety. When it comes to national security, even less is known about the effectiveness of surveillance.

Control behavior and apply censorship

Another reason for government surveillance involves controlling online behavior and enforcing censorship. This is often aimed at suppressing dissent, managing political narratives, and restricting access to information that the government considers harmful or undesirable. By monitoring internet usage and communications, governments can identify, filter, and block content that challenges official policies or threatens their control, thereby shaping public opinion and discourse.

Examples of government surveillance

There have been several high-profile examples of secret government surveillance that were exposed.

Church Committee Hearings (1975): Following the leak of the existence of the NSA by whistleblower Christopher Pyle in 1971, the Church Committee, led by Senator Frank Church, conducted extensive hearings revealing widespread surveillance abuses by U.S. intelligence agencies, including the NSA's Operation SHAMROCK, which involved the interception of telegraphic messages without warrants.

NSA Warrantless Surveillance Program (2001-2007): Reports by The Guardian and The New York Times in 2005 exposed the NSA's warrantless surveillance program, authorized by President George W. Bush after the 9/11 attacks. The program involved the bulk collection of phone records of millions of Americans without proper legal oversight.

PRISM and Mass Surveillance Revelations (2013): The Washington Post and The Guardian published articles based on leaked documents by whistleblower Edward Snowden, revealing the NSA's PRISM program and other mass surveillance programs targeting global internet communications. These revelations sparked international outrage and debates over government overreach and privacy rights.

XKEYSCORE System (2013): Further disclosures by Edward Snowden revealed the existence of the NSA's XKEYSCORE system, a powerful surveillance tool allowing analysts to search and analyze global internet data, including emails, online chats, and browsing history, with minimal oversight.

Apart from these high-profile examples, there is also the everyday government surveillance that is viewed as necessary, such as data collection at border crossings or law enforcement’s use of CCTV.

What can the government learn from your metadata?

Metadata, often described as data about data, can reveal a surprising amount of detailed information about an individual's life and habits. While it may not include the content of communications, metadata can show:

🔷️ Who you communicate with

🔷️ Timestamps of your communications

🔷️ Your location at any time

🔷️ Duration of calls

🔷️ Your preferred methods to communicate

🔷️ Email subjects

🔷️ Frequency of interactions with certain contacts

From this information, governments can construct a detailed profile of a person's social network, daily routines, interests, and even intentions. The aggregation of metadata over time allows for the creation of a comprehensive picture of an individual's life, making it a powerful tool for surveillance and analysis without ever needing to access the actual content of communications.

How does the government spy on you?

Governments employ various methods to monitor individuals, which range from intercepting digital communications to tracking physical movements.

Governments may use sophisticated methods no one is even aware of. But there are also a number of known, straightforward ways, some that don’t even require them to develop advanced eavesdropping technology.

Social media profile tracking

Your social media accounts, such as Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, TikTok, and others, contain data you’ve chosen to share. However, the surveillance is in how that data is processed. AI algorithms can analyze vast amounts of data quickly, identifying patterns, sentiments, and connections that may indicate certain behaviors or intentions. For example:

🔷️ Your relationships with other users

🔷️ The meaning of your posts’ content

🔷️ Your past and current locations

🔷️ Gender

🔷️ Religion

🔷️ Sexual orientation

🔷️ Political views

This method allows for the efficient surveillance of public opinions, potential protests, and the spread of information, all under the guise of maintaining national security or public order.

CCTV and facial recognition technology

Facial recognition techniques are among the most advanced technologies authorities currently use to monitor citizens. AI tools used by governments can take the pictures you’ve shared on social media and enter them into a facial recognition database. That’s then paired with CCTV cameras everywhere.

With these systems, authorities can identify and track individuals at public gatherings, protests, or even in their daily lives. This technology integration enables a level of monitoring that can pinpoint a person's location, associations, and activities with unprecedented precision.

Data from tech giants

Tech giants such as Meta (Facebook), Google, and Amazon have lots of information about us, probably even more than governments themselves. The aim is different, though, as these corporations use it mostly for increasing sales, such as via targeted ads or by improving their products.

The problem is that governments can request these corporations to hand over some personal information from their customers. Some corporations, like Apple or Google, tend to fight against overly general requests to protect their users. Still, they’re required to comply with the law, so if there’s a warrant, they can be compelled to submit information such as emails, search histories, and location data, offering authorities a vast collection of personal details.

Data from internet service providers

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, and others in the U.S. are major pieces of government surveillance because they are the gateway to vast amounts of user data. Governments are known to request data from them.