Since 9/11, the United States has experienced several major terrorist and ideologically motivated attacks, including Boston, San Bernardino, Orlando, Pittsburgh, El Paso, Buffalo, the Capitol attack, and the 2025 New Orleans attack.
These events led to a major expansion of security and surveillance technologies, including facial recognition, biometric databases, license-plate readers, public cameras, and AI-assisted intelligence systems. I understand the need to prevent violence, but I’m concerned about what this means for ordinary people’s privacy. Did you watch “Person of Interest” series on Netflix?
How much personal information is being collected, and how long is it stored? Are facial-recognition systems tracking people who have never been accused of a crime? Can information from government agencies, private companies, social media, and surveillance cameras be combined without people knowing? What protections exist against false matches, misuse, or monitoring based on a person’s religion, political views, or associations?
I’m not suggesting that a single secret AI system is monitoring everyone, since there is no confirmed evidence of that. But the increasing use of automated surveillance raises serious questions about consent, transparency, due process, and civil liberties. How can society balance public safety with the right to live, communicate, and travel without being constantly monitored?