Question & Answer: Should the public be concerned that federal and state agencies are using surveillance technologies…..

No, the public should not be concerned that federal and state agencies are using surveillance technologies (e.g., data mining) domestically. This is because even though the use of surveillance technologies leads to compromising on privacy of citizens the intention is to protect the citizens by strengthening the intelligence gathering and hence law enforcement.

There are ample checks and balances put in place by the federal and state agencies to ensure that there is not a significant and substantial erosion of the privacy rights of American citizens.

Increased surveillance enables the government to protect the citizens from acts of terrorism, violence and transnational crimes in a more efficient manner.