--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think mass surveillance is a bad idea…" description: "\"I think mass surveillance is a bad idea because a surveillance society is one in which people understand that they are constantly monitored.\" — Trevor ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5c/trevor-paglen-4201_bad_i-think-mass-surveillance-is-a-bad-idea_2714854.png" --- # I think mass surveillance is a bad idea because a… ![“I think mass surveillance is a bad idea because a surveillance society is one in which people understand that they are constantly monitored.” quote by Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5c/trevor-paglen-4201_bad_i-think-mass-surveillance-is-a-bad-idea_2714854.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5c/trevor-paglen-4201_bad_i-think-mass-surveillance-is-a-bad-idea_2714854.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5c/trevor-paglen-4201_bad_i-think-mass-surveillance-is-a-bad-idea_2714854.png) > “I think mass surveillance is a bad idea because a surveillance society is one in which people understand that they are constantly monitored.” [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mass surveillance erodes privacy, making people feel constantly watched and altering behavior. **In simple terms:** Constant monitoring changes how people act. Key Takeaway Guard privacy and question surveillance practices. Themes privacy surveillance society freedom Mood cautionary thought‑provoking Type philosophical political When to use this quote - online activity - public spaces - workplace monitoring - government data collection Key Concepts social control technology ethics power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What freedoms are worth sacrificing for safety? - How can citizens resist pervasive monitoring? A Different Perspective Security concerns can justify some monitoring, creating tension. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad/) [Bad idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-idea/) [Constantly Monitored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constantly-monitored-2836004/) [Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) [Idea Surveillance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea-surveillance-2836003/) [Mass Surveillance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass-surveillance-535845/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Surveillance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surveillance/) [Surveillance Bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surveillance-bad-2836002/) [Surveillance Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surveillance-society-961660/) ## Related quotes > [Our movements and feelings are constantly monitored, because surveillance is the business model of the digital age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-viner/our-movements-and-feelings-are-constantly-monitored-because/) [Katharine Viner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-viner/) > [A funny thing happened on the way to utopia: We've turned into this surveillance society and become a race of spies, where we track…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/a-funny-thing-happened-on-the-way-to-utopia-we-ve-turned-into-this/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [What we have now in America is a surveillance society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/what-we-have-now-in-america-is-a-surveillance-society/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [Orwell wasn't right about where society was in 1984. We haven't turned into that sort of surveillance society. But that may be, at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramez-naam/orwell-wasn-t-right-about-where-society-was-in-1984-we-haven-t-turned/) [Ramez Naam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramez-naam/) > [The Internet was supposed to be the greatest tool of global communications and means of sharing knowledge in human history. And it is. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/the-internet-was-supposed-to-be-the-greatest-tool-of-global/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [What would the infrastructure of the Internet look like if mass surveillance wasn't its business model?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/what-would-the-infrastructure-of-the-internet-look-like-if-mass/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [It is so obvious that we are constantly monitored and manipulated both in advertising and in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beppe-grillo/it-is-so-obvious-that-we-are-constantly-monitored-and-manipulated/) [Beppe Grillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beppe-grillo/) > [I have used mass surveillance to target people, so I do know how it works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/i-have-used-mass-surveillance-to-target-people-so-i-do-know-how-it/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [When we look at the full-on mass surveillance watching everyone in the country, in the United States, it doesn't work. It didn't stop the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/when-we-look-at-the-full-on-mass-surveillance-watching-everyone-in/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Someone recently talked about mass surveillance and the NSA revelations as being the atomic moment for computer scientists. The atomic bomb was the moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/someone-recently-talked-about-mass-surveillance-and-the-nsa/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [If we don't do anything, if we go along with the status quo, we are going to have a mass surveillance world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-we-don-t-do-anything-if-we-go-along-with-the-status-quo-we-are/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [“mass surveillance is a universal temptation for any unscrupulous power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/mass-surveillance-is-a-universal-temptation-for-any-unscrupulous-power/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“Love and Freedom of Thoughts is a fast-acting antidote against the misanthropic cold sword of mass surveillance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/love-and-freedom-of-thoughts-is-a-fast-acting-antidote-against-the/) [sir Kristian Goldmund Aumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/) > [“mass surveillance kills dissent in a deeper and more important place as well: in the mind, where the individual trains him- or herself to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/mass-surveillance-kills-dissent-in-a-deeper-and-more-important-place/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [I don't think there's anything, any threat out there today that anyone can point to, that justifies placing an entire population under mass surveillance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/i-don-t-think-there-s-anything-any-threat-out-there-today-that-anyone/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) ## More by Trevor Paglen > [I believe that art can make relevant and progressive contributions to culture and society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/i-believe-that-art-can-make-relevant-and-progressive-contributions-to/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Photography has become so fundamental to the way we see that 'photography' and 'seeing' are becoming more and more synonymous. The ubiquity of photography…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/photography-has-become-so-fundamental-to-the-way-we-see-that/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [I'm pretty cynical about the future, but I feel like that's not an ethical position for me to take. It's not okay for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/i-m-pretty-cynical-about-the-future-but-i-feel-like-that-s-not-an/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Civilian law around aviation is much looser than those governing military. 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Images really matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/images-can-make-realities-out-of-people-and-struggles-the-reality-we/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [It's productive and fun to try interpreting cave paintings, but ultimately, they can't teach us anything beyond what we imagine them to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/it-s-productive-and-fun-to-try-interpreting-cave-paintings-but/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Anything humans can do in space, robots can do better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/anything-humans-can-do-in-space-robots-can-do-better/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Before Christianity became the Roman Empire's official religion in the 4th Century, 'mystery religions,' organized around a central canon of secret knowledge, were widespread.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/before-christianity-became-the-roman-empire-s-official-religion-in/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [When we look up into the starry night sky, we tend to see reflections of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/when-we-look-up-into-the-starry-night-sky-we-tend-to-see-reflections/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [“The CIA, an agency designed to operate outside the law, was now free to pursue its vision of a new world, to create new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/the-cia-an-agency-designed-to-operate-outside-the-law-was-now-free-to/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Once, I got lost in the middle of the desert and had to follow the North Star to find the dirt road where my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/once-i-got-lost-in-the-middle-of-the-desert-and-had-to-follow-the/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) [Explore all 114 Trevor Paglen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) ## More Bad quotes > [If I am going to be phased out by whatever powers, then I want people to know that it is not because I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parvathy/if-i-am-going-to-be-phased-out-by-whatever-powers-then-i-want-people/) [Parvathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parvathy/) > [Sometimes I'm in a bad mood, sometimes I'm in a good mood. 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