News Summary

• After 9/11, the idea that the government could surveil the population to safety took hold.
• Bruce Schneier: The government has never provided a full analysis of the costs and benefits of these mass surveillance programs.
• It seems reasonable to step back and evaluate the costs of this shift to mass surveillance, especially in terms of Americans’ rights and freedoms, Schneier says.
• But even if some utility exists, it must be seriously weighed against the costs, he says, and other techniques could produce the same results.