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The Current State Of Surveillance

Passersby walk under a surveillance camera  part of facial recognition technology test.
Passersby walk under a surveillance camera part of facial recognition technology test.

Think of how you spend your day. Maybe when you first wake up in the morning you check the weather or your email.

Maybe you take your dog for a walk around the neighborhood and place a coffee order on your phone before you head into work or go back to the home office. 

Now think of how many cameras you pass in those first few hours. CCTVs around the coffee shop. Ring cameras on your neighbors’ doorsteps. The apps on your phone – from food delivery to COVID contact tracing – know where you are at all times.

It’s been nearly 20 years since the Patriot Act was passed. How has surveillance changed over the years? And why, exactly,are we so watched now?

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