CITIZENS NEWS

2024: The year America’s freedoms were stripped away – Surveillance, censorship, and government overreach

By isabelle // 2025-01-05

• In 2024, the U.S. government expanded mass surveillance, using facial recognition, biometric data, and geofencing to track citizens' movements and activities.
• The Biden administration justified these measures as public safety initiatives, but critics labeled them as a power grab eroding privacy and freedom.
• Social media platforms, pressured by the government, censored dissenting voices, particularly targeting conservative viewpoints and critics of progressive policies.
• The Global Engagement Center (GEC) and other programs used taxpayer funds to suppress "misinformation," further stifling free speech and creating an echo chamber.
• Critics argue that 2024 marked a turning point in the government's assault on individual liberties, with privacy and free expression becoming relics of the past.

In 2024, the erosion of American liberties reached alarming new heights. From the expansion of the surveillance state to the relentless censorship of free speech, the year marked a turning point in the government’s assault on the very freedoms that define our nation. Under the guise of safety and security, Democrats and their allies in Big Tech waged an unprecedented war on privacy, free expression, and individual rights. The surveillance state grew more pervasive than ever, with facial recognition technology, biometric data collection, and geofencing dragnets becoming commonplace. Americans’ every move—whether online or in public—was tracked, recorded, and stored in vast government databases. The government, in collusion with corporations, created a dystopian network of digital Peeping Toms, turning every smartphone, smart device, and social media account into a tool for mass surveillance. This Orwellian reality was not the work of a distant authoritarian regime but the result of policies championed by the Biden administration and its Democratic allies. The government’s insatiable appetite for control has transformed America into a nation where privacy is a relic of the past, and freedom is a privilege granted only to those who toe the line.

The surveillance state: Watching your every move

In 2024, the surveillance state became an inescapable reality for millions of Americans. Facial recognition technology expanded into new areas of life, with government agencies and private companies collecting biometric data without consent. From airports to public streets, cameras equipped with advanced software tracked individuals in real time, eroding anonymity and creating a chilling effect on free movement. The government’s use of geofencing—a tactic that identifies and tracks individuals based on their phone’s location data—became a particularly egregious tool of control. Law enforcement agencies used this technology to monitor protests, rallies, and even everyday activities, turning innocent citizens into suspects simply for being in the “wrong place at the wrong time.” Meanwhile, DNA databases grew exponentially, with law enforcement agencies harvesting genetic material to build profiles of individuals and their families. This invasive practice not only violated privacy but also opened the door to genetic profiling and preemptive policing, where individuals could be targeted based on predictions of future behavior. The Biden administration’s embrace of these technologies was justified under the banner of public safety. But in reality, it was a blatant power grab, designed to consolidate control and silence dissent. The government’s message was clear: if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. But as history has shown, a government that watches its citizens so closely is one that cannot be trusted.

Social media censorship: Silencing dissent

While the surveillance state expanded, so too did the government’s efforts to control the flow of information. Social media platforms, often acting at the behest of federal agencies, engaged in widespread censorship of viewpoints deemed “unacceptable” by the ruling elite. Under the Biden administration, the fight against so-called “misinformation” became a thinly veiled excuse to suppress free speech. The government funneled millions of taxpayer dollars into programs aimed at policing online discourse. Universities, nonprofits, and tech companies received grants to study and combat “misinformation”, with a particular focus on silencing critics of COVID-19 policies, climate change narratives, and other progressive agendas. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter, under pressure from the White House, removed posts, banned accounts, and manipulated algorithms to suppress conservative voices. This collusion between Big Tech and the government created an echo chamber where only approved narratives were allowed to flourish. Dissenting opinions were labeled as dangerous, and those who dared to question the official line were branded as extremists. The result was a chilling effect on free expression, as Americans increasingly self-censored to avoid the wrath of the censorship cartel. The Biden administration’s war on free speech reached new heights with the creation of the Global Engagement Center (GEC), a State Department subagency tasked with combating “disinformation.” The GEC funneled taxpayer money to organizations like the Global Disinformation Index, which blacklisted conservative media outlets and pressured advertisers to defund them. This blatant attack on the First Amendment was a stark reminder of the lengths to which the government would go to control the narrative.

A government of the elite, by the elite, for the elite

The erosion of liberties in 2024 was not an accident but the result of deliberate policies enacted by a government that has lost touch with the people it serves. The Biden administration and its Democratic allies have shown time and again that they value control over freedom, order over justice, and power over principle. As we look back on 2024, it is clear that America is at a crossroads. The freedoms we once took for granted are under siege, and the government’s assault on liberty shows no signs of abating. If we are to reclaim our rights and restore the principles upon which this nation was founded, we must resist the encroachments of the surveillance state, reject the censorship of free speech, and hold our leaders accountable for their abuses of power. The future of America depends on it. Sources for this article include: Rutherford.org Expose-News.com NYPost.com NYPost.com

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