Mass surveillance – Wikipedia

Mass surveillance is the pervasive surveillance of an entire population, or a substantial fraction thereof.

Modern governments today commonly perform mass surveillance of their citizens, arguing that they believe that it is necessary to protect them from dangerous groups such as terrorists, criminals, or political subversives and to maintain social control.

Mass surveillance has been widely criticized on several grounds such as violations of privacy rights, illegality, and for preventing political and social freedoms, which some fear will ultimately lead to a totalitarian state where political dissent is crushed by COINTELPRO-like programs. Such a state may also be referred to as an Electronic Police State.

via Mass surveillance – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.