Definition
Government surveillance is the gathering of information by a country’s government for intelligence, threat recognition and monitoring, political motives, investigation, and prevention of criminal activity or social control. They do this by monitoring networks or social websites and processing the data or tracking users.
Government Surveillance Examples
- The Five Eyes: This surveillance coalition, formed after WW2 by five nations, includes the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, New Zealand, and Australia. These countries monitor their citizens’ online activities and share intelligence information.
- China: The Chinese government fully controls the internet. It monitors all messages, websites, forums, and search engines, using keywords to filter and identify undesirable content and find who produced it.
How to Avoid Government Surveillance
- Use a reliable VPN like ExtremeVPN to encrypt your internet connectivity and ensure no one intercepts your online activities.
- Use private messages, search engines, email services, and browsers.