Government agencies have broad powers to act for the public good. This includes the ability to investigate individuals and organizations and to conduct surveillance about their activities, a capacity strengthened by recent technological advances. But the ability to perform these functions is limited by various constitutional protections, including the First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, and various statutory and regulatory laws. This course will explore the intersection of contemporary surveillance practices with the need to safeguard civil liberties. The course will place special emphasis on the evolving right to privacy in an increasingly cyber and technology oriented world, the ways in which surveillance is used to control and manage populations of people, and the implications of new surveillance practices on civil liberty protections. The course will investigate electronic and non-electronic surveillance practices, including stingrays, biometric technology, predictive policing, community mapping and countering violent extremism programs. It will conclude by discussing proposed reforms to curb surveillance practices, including body cameras, greater diversity, encryption, and mass mobilization. Pass/Fail [1]
