Privacy and Government Surveillance
Georgians shouldn’t have to give up their privacy simply because technology makes mass surveillance possible.
Government agencies now have access to tools that can track vehicles, collect location data, analyze faces, monitor online activity, and build detailed records of people’s daily lives. Much of this information can be collected without a warrant, stored by private companies, and searched by agencies far beyond the community where it was gathered.
That creates enormous potential for abuse.
The issue isn’t that people may be seen while they’re in public. The issue is the creation of permanent, searchable databases that can reveal where someone goes, who they meet, where they worship, which medical offices they visit, which political events they attend, and what organizations they support.
A single observation is not the same as continuous tracking.
Technology such as automated license plate readers can record the movements of thousands of innocent people in order to search for a small number of suspects. That turns the traditional standard of law enforcement on its head. Instead of investigating someone because there is evidence of a crime, the government collects information on everyone and decides later whose movements it wants to examine.
Private surveillance companies make this problem worse. Public agencies may purchase access to databases that are operated outside normal government systems, shared across jurisdictions, and governed by contracts the public rarely sees. Local officials may not even know how often the information is searched, which outside agencies have access, how long records are retained, or whether the technology has actually made the community safer.
Public safety tools must be judged by evidence, not sales presentations.
I support requiring law enforcement agencies to demonstrate that surveillance technology solves serious crimes before taxpayer money is spent on it. Agencies should publish regular reports showing how often systems are used, how many searches produce useful results, which agencies have access, and how often the technology leads to an arrest or conviction.
I will support legislation that:
- Requires a warrant before government agencies can access a person’s historical location data, except in genuine emergencies.
- Places strict limits on how long surveillance records can be stored.
- Prevents local data from being used for immigration enforcement, political targeting, or investigations unrelated to serious criminal activity.
- Requires public approval before a government agency purchases or deploys new surveillance technology.
- Creates clear audit logs showing who searched a database, when they searched it, and why.
- Prohibits agencies from sharing data with outside organizations without a documented legal purpose.
- Gives citizens the right to know what personal information the government has collected about them.
- Requires independent audits and meaningful penalties when surveillance systems are misused.
- Protects biometric information, including facial images, fingerprints, voice recordings, and other identifying data.
- Prevents state agencies from purchasing personal data from commercial brokers as a way to avoid the warrant requirement.
Law enforcement officers need effective tools to investigate crimes and protect the public. Those tools should be targeted, accountable, and consistent with the Constitution.
Public safety and personal privacy can coexist. That requires clear rules, meaningful oversight, and leaders who understand that constitutional rights still apply when the government uses new technology.
You should not have to prove that you have done nothing wrong before you are allowed to live without being tracked.