Privacy

This is the continuation of a long bipartisan pattern. After 9/11, every administration has tried to expand surveillance capabilities — sometimes it stalls in Congress, sometimes it succeeds quietly. Obama expanded drone programs and NSA data sharing. Biden didn't fundamentally restrict Section 702. Trump is just being explicit about it.

The real shift is framing: instead of "counterterrorism" as the justification, it's "law and order." Different political coalition, same infrastructure.

What's worth tracking is whether Congress actually pushes back. The FISA courts and intelligence committees are supposed to be checkpoints, but they mostly rubber-stamp. The only time surveillance restrictions passed was after Snowden's leaks created public pressure.

Decentralization advocates should be watching this—it's one of the strongest arguments for encrypted, privacy-preserving tools that don't require trusting government infrastructure.