History Main / BigBrotherIsWatching

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'':

%%* Big Bunny from ''Series/TheGoodies''.

* ''Literature/ThePianistFromSyria'': Chapter Four - Aeham and his father visit a wealthy man because he hired Mr. Ahamd to tune his piano. While his father insists it's on the house and he needn't pay him anyway, he hands Aeham a wad of bills instead. At home, Aeham gives his father the money, only for his father to panic, interrogate him about the man and ask what happened. He then warns Aeham to never speak to anyone about what happened, because "in Syria, even the walls have ears".

* The planet Kegan in the ''Literature/JediApprentice'' book ''The Fight for Truth'' has a very small population and only one city. Its rulers, the [[WellIntentionedExtremist Benevolent Guides]], implemented increasing levels of surveillance to keep things running smoothly. Qui-Gon Jinn finds that intensely detailed records are kept of people even in their own homes (who they talk to, what they say, what they write and to whom), nut children abducted for standing out (having a chronic illness, being Force-Sensitive, questioning the propaganda they're fed) have their records removed.

The future is now, unfortunately!

* PlayedForLaughs by Music/{{Cheekface}} in the song "Popular 2", which is all about wanting to be popular in the modern age... which involves being constantly viewed from porch cameras set up around your neighborhood. In this sense, the surveillance state isn't from [[SinisterSurveillance some overarching dystopian government]], but rather a collective of neighbors so paranoid about their security [[ImproperlyParanoid that they destroy it in the process]].

-->''I just want to be popular to watch\\

* ''Franchise/SpongeBobSquarePants'': PlayedForLaughs in the ''SpongeBob Comics'' story "[[https://twitter.com/ArtofSpongebob/status/1484704945144270848 The Consumer Is Always Right]]" (complete with TheBackwardsR), a ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' parody in which Mr. Krabs has turned Bikini Bottom into a OneNationUnderCopyright where everyone's forced to eat only Krabby Patties, with each one being made exactly the same with no deviation allowed.

* In ''ComicBook/AllFallDown'', the DigitizedHacker AIQ Squared is able to monitor all the main characters on a steady basis -- to the point of eavesdropping in the Pentagon.
* In ''ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders'' annual #1, WellIntentionedExtremist B. Eric Blairman (inspired by ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'') launches a satellite called the Omni-Cast, which turns every television set in the nation into a surveillance device and allows him to monitor every computer.
* In ''ComicBook/BatmanYearOneHundred'', Batman fights off the surveillance state built in the wake of UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror.
* In ''ComicBook/ElseworldsFinestSupergirlAndBatgirl'', Batgirl uses Oracle's computer system to watch and monitor Gotham City and its locals. She constantly warns: "Remember -- Oracle's eyes are everywhere."
* In ''ComicBook/GoddessMode'', the fact that everyone is connected to Azoth makes it really easy for Hermeticorp, which own Azoth, to gather data about everyone.
* In ''ComicBook/HexWives'', the Architects have every inch of the cul-de-sac covered by cameras and microphones: allowing them to monitor the witches at all times and ensure they never do anything that might lead to them discovering their powers.
* In ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'', ComicBook/{{Batman}} creates the "Brother MK 1"/"[[ComicBook/{{OMAC}} Brother Eye]]" satellite to "observe" all of the supertypes of Franchise/TheDCU.

* In ''ComicBook/ManyHappyReturns'', ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} warns super-villain Rebel that she can [[XRayVision see through walls]] and [[SuperHearing hear his heartbeats a continent away]], so if he does something wrong, she will know and stop him.

* In ''ComicBook/RunawaysRainbowRowell'', Dr. Hayes' house is under constant surveillance by her army of psychic cats, all of them tasked with watching the doctor's granddaughter, Molly.
* ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'' has a rather interesting {{invo|kedTrope}}cation with Desire, who addresses its older brother Dream (out of hearing range): "Big brother -- ''I watch you''..."
* PlayedForLaughs in the ''[[Franchise/SpongeBobSquarePants SpongeBob Comics]]'' story "[[https://twitter.com/ArtofSpongebob/status/1484704945144270848 The Consumer Is Always Right]]" (complete with TheBackwardsR), a ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' parody in which Mr. Krabs has turned Bikini Bottom into a OneNationUnderCopyright where everyone's forced to eat only Krabby Patties, with each one being made exactly the same with no deviation allowed.
* In ''ComicBook/SupermanRedSon'', between Superman's [[SuperSenses heightened senses]] and Brainiac's [[SurveillanceDrone drones]], there are very few places to hide in the worldwide Soviet Union.

* ''ComicBook/{{Transmetropolitan}}'' is more ''[[AdvertOverloadedFuture Big Advertiser]]''. A major plot point revolves around advertisers exploiting momentary 'dead spaces' in the law to pump out ads that are poison. The internet had been overtaken by ads as well. To a lesser extent, the government tries to take over the major news casters; however, the littlest part of the internet that was free broke the story.

%%* The Leader from ''ComicBook/VForVendetta''. - Administrivia/ZeroContentExample

* In ''Film/ThePurge'', at the beginning of the Purge event, a loud, official voice sounds informing the populace that the Purge has begun, that emergency services are suspended, and some other information, ending with this gem: "Your government thanks you for your participation." It is unclear if the voice comes from the family's television, radio, or outside public loudspeakers, but the intent and effect remain the same.

* The villainous Alien Empire of ''Anime/{{Daltanious}}'' place surveillance robots (towers that literally have one gigantic, red, eye in the center) that automatically turn into {{Killer Robot}}s at the sight of any rebellion. They also have a name that can be rendered as "Tsar" (ザール) and aim to colonize all their neighbours. DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything?[[note]]UsefulNotes/TheSovietUnion[[/note]].

* ''ComicBook/{{Transmetropolitan}}'' is more ''Big Advertiser''. A major plot point revolves around advertisers exploiting momentary 'dead spaces' in the law to pump out ads that are poison. The internet had been overtaken by ads as well. To a lesser extent the government tries to take over the major news casters; however, the littlest part of the internet that was free broke the story.

* ''Literature/ZonesOfThought'': In ''A Deepness in the Sky'', the Emergents take over the Qeng Ho space fleet by force. LaResistance quickly forms, but one of the rebels discovers too late that the Emergents are watching ''everything'' they do, by using the Focus plague to create SlaveMooks who do nothing but monitor electronic surveillance. Later they use thousands of dust-sized cameras to watch over the Qeng Ho. [[spoiler:Fortunately they don't know the man who originally developed the cameras is in their midst and has a backdoor to the program.]]

* Another one from the UK: [[http://www.boingboing.net/2009/03/24/london-cops-reach-ne.html "A bomb won't go off here because weeks before a shopper reported someone studying the CCTV cameras."]]
** This one became popular, in that it was [[http://www.boingboing.net/2009/03/26/remixes-of-the-paran.html remixed to death]].

* The [[FloatingContinent Skypiea]] arc in ''Manga/OnePiece'' featured a [[AGodAmI self proclaimed god]] who used his [[ShockAndAwe lightning powers]] to monitor and dispense quick [[DeathFromAbove "justice"]] among the citizens living on "his" land.
* ''Anime/DoraemonNobitasLittleSpaceWar'' have the gang infiltrating Parika, a planet under the rule of a space dictator named Gilmore. The various posters of Gilmore hung all over the cities are actually surveillance cameras.

* ''Anime/PsychoPass'' has this as an ExaggeratedTrope. The Sibyl System doesn't just monitor people, it tells them everything they are supposed to do with their life and ''watches every thought that every person has''. You can't even seriously contemplate committing a crime without having police come to send you to therapy or arrest you and put in an asylum. If the Sibyl System thinks you're dangerous enough, the police's guns will shift into lethal mode when they target you.
* In ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'', Academy City is a rather subtle example. On the surface, everyone seems to be living fairly freely, and a number of people commit crimes without retribution, but it's covered in security cameras, watched from orbit, plays ultrasonic frequencies throughout the city so a phone call can be traced by analyzing the sound patterns, and has a database containing detailed information on everyone in the city, ''including brainwave patterns''. Those crimes people get away with? Nearly all of them are secretly backed by the higher ups, and even the ones that aren't are known to them. If all that wasn't enough, there's a ''second'' monitoring system of nanomachines spread throughout the city, even where the cameras don't reach. The police are also heavily armed and double as the military, but [[PsychicPowers considering what they have to deal with]] that part is fairly understandable.
* In ''Anime/IronManRiseOfTechnovore'', this is lampshaded by people protesting the launching of Stark Industries' new surveillance satellite HOWARD. Tony unconvincingly insists that its only purpose is to watch out for bad people.
* Non-villain example - The Blue Clan, Scepter 4 in ''Anime/{{K}}'' has the Yuishiki System, which can be used to monitor everything in the country. They need a warrant to enable it, though, and when they do - when the Red King's RoaringRampageOfRevenge is threatening to take the whole city down with the killer they're all trying to find - the system turns up no results for the killer, who's been made an UnPerson by an even more powerful Clan.
* [[ShadowDictator Kira's]] regime in ''Manga/DeathNote''. People revere him as a god (even building a temple to him), and threaten each other with releasing the picture and personal info of those who offend or wrong them to Kira.
* {{Inverted|trope}} in ''Manga/CastleTownDandelion''. While the city is peppered with surveillance cameras, but the king himself had them apparently set up to make sure the kids were safe while he was doing his work at the castle--his family is a [[RoyaltySuperpower superpowered]] one, mind you. However, once the issue of the {{electi|veMonarchy}}on comes up, the cameras ''then'' gain a secondary purpose -- as a ready source of viewing for the public so that they can decide who they would eventually vote for to be the next ruler. In the latter case, people started to discuss the footage as if the royalty were celebrities, {{Panty Shot}}s included.
* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' comes in two flavors for your enjoyment.
** The lesser example is the Central 1st Brigade, a branch of the Military Police tasked with monitoring the citizens and eliminating anyone that steps out of line. They answer directly to the upper-ranks of the government, and handle the supression of free speech, technological advancements, and assassinations of anyone that draws the ire of the Walled society's rulers.
** [[spoiler:In the nation of Marley, all Eldians are strictly monitored by the Public Security Bureau and encouraged to report others for "suspicious" or "rebellious" behavior. Stepping out of line in even the ''slightest'' can result in the unfortunate Eldian (''and'' possibly their entire family) being subjected to public abuse/shaming, torture, and [[AFateWorseThanDeath transformation]] into a [[AndIMustScream mindless]] Titan for use as cannon fodder by the military. As a direct result, the vast majority live in constant fear and tolerate any abuse with a smile on their face to appease their captors]].
* Used as a gag in Episode 26 of ''Anime/ExcelSaga'', when Kabapu has set up lots of cameras in Misaki's shower, and is excitedly waiting for Ropponmatsu 1 to rub lotion on her. Misaki punches out the cameras before he can see too much, though.

* ''Literature/{{Shimoneta}}'':
** People are forced to wear special chokers and wristbands called Peace Makers to monitor what they say for obscene words and alert the authorities. They can even track arm and finger movements for anything written or drawn. Blue Snow has a special function on her phone to disable her PM, and presumably any nearby [=PMs=], for three minutes a day.
** Anna's mother is trying to pass a law to make this even ''worse'', by allowing the active monitoring and recording of PM for underage citizens, [[spoiler:and making them wear the newest [=PMs=] that are shaped like chastity belts]].

* The extremely well-loved AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho episode ''[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho054TheNaturalHistoryOfFear The Natural History Of Fear]]'' revels in this trope. Every scene starts with people watching a recording of the previous scene. Many of which include people telling each other they're not being recorded. The effect is ''deeply'' unsettling.

%%* The Leader from ''ComicBook/VForVendetta''. - Administrivia/ZeroContentExample
* In ''ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders Annual'' #1, WellIntentionedExtremist B. Eric Blairman (inspired by ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'') launches a satellite called the Omni-Cast, which turns every television set in the nation into a surveillance device and allows him to monitor every computer.
** Batman is fighting off the surveillance state built in the wake of UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror in ''ComicBook/BatmanYearOneHundred''.
** Then there was the time ''ComicBook/{{Batman}} himself'' created the "Brother MK 1"/"[[ComicBook/{{OMAC}} Brother Eye]]" satellite to "observe" all of the supertypes of Franchise/TheDCU.

* ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'': In ''Comicbook/ManyHappyReturns'', Kara warns super-villain Rebel that she can see through walls and she can hear his heartbeats a continent away, so if he does something wrong, she will know and stop him.

* ''The Black Dossier'', a sequel to ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen''. London is just wriggling out from life under a dictatorial regime; they had in the pubs!
* ''ComicBook/{{Transmetropolitan}}'' is more ''Big Advertiser''. A major plot point revolves around advertisers exploiting momentary 'dead spaces' in the law to pump out ads that are poison. The internet had been overtaken by ads as well. To a lesser extent the government tries to take over the major news casters; however the littlest part of the internet that was free broke the story.
* In ''ComicBook/AllFallDown'', the DigitizedHacker AIQ Squared is able to monitor all the main characters on a steady basis -- to the point of eavesdropping in the Pentagon.
* ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'': Part of what makes Mega-City One a dystopia is the constant surveillance by the Judges. While they do have the justification of needing to prevent genuine crime rather than just oppressing the people for the hell of it, the city is friggin' brimming with spy drones, public and covert cameras (if they wanted to monitor someone in more detail, they could easily, say, kidnap them, replace one of their eyes with a bionic implant, and then record everything they do) and other forms of SinisterSurveillance.

* ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel''

** ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': When Bruce asks Fury about his job, he explained in full detail how closely S.H.I.E.L.D. is monitoring him and everything he does.
* In ''ComicBook/HexWives'', the Architects have every inch of the cul-de-sac covered by cameras and microphones: allowing them to monitor the witches at all times and ensure they never do anything that might lead to them discovering their powers.
* In ''ComicBook/SupermanRedSon'', between Superman's heightened senses and Brainiac's drones, there are very few places to hide in the worldwide Soviet Union.
* In ''ComicBook/RunawaysRainbowRowell'', Dr. Hayes' house is under constant surveillance by her army of psychic cats, all of them tasked with watching the doctor's granddaughter, Molly.
* PlayedForLaughs in the ''[[Franchise/SpongeBobSquarePants SpongeBob Comics]]'' ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' parody "[[https://twitter.com/ArtofSpongebob/status/1484704945144270848 The Consumer Is Always Right]]" (complete with TheBackwardsR), where Mr. Krabs has turned Bikini Bottom into a OneNationUnderCopyright where everyone's forced to eat only Krabby Patties, with each one being made exactly the same with no deviation allowed.

* In ''ComicBook/GoddessMode'', the fact that everyone is connected to Azoth makes it really easy for Hermeticorp, which own Azoth, to gather data about everyone.
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye:''
** Pre-war Cybertron, especially during the period known as the Clampdown, where a successful assassination attempt on Nominus Prime prompted the Senate to crack down on "subversives" via every means they could, including spy satellites out the wazoo. Nightbeat is shown complaining that it's just made everyone more twitchy.
** [[spoiler:The Functionist Cybertron takes this to horrifying extremes, with the flatheads; Cybertronians with their heads replaced with TV screens, after the Functionist's previous form of surgical mutiliation was becoming too ''common'' to shock anymore. And then it turns out they can listen in through those screens, and speak back. Then it turns out the Functionists plan to make sure everyone is watching everyone... via cameras installed into everyone's eyes. The next time we see Cybertron, protesters have gotten around that one by ''removing'' their eyes.]]

* In ''Fanfic/CWCollateralATaleOfTheResistance'', Magi-chan Sonichu provides surveillance for the Chandler regime via his vast psychic powers. The PVCC manage to hide their bases from him using anti-psychic technology. [[spoiler: And later in the story, his illegitimate daughter Aki starts actively projecting PsychicStatic to block his scrying.]]
* [[FanFic/EquestriaAHistoryRevealed Equestria: A History Revealed]]: The fic's LemonyNarrator believes that Celestia and her [[SecretPolice fallacy police]] are keeping an eye on her, which causes some of her paranoia to leak into the fic. But given that she also thinks that they can look directly into her thoughts and the fact that she's a ConspiracyTheorist with a capital C, this is more than likely [[PlayedForLaughs all in her head.]]

* ''Fanfic/TheUniversiad'' subverts the trope in that it is ''because'' of the ubiquitous surveillance from FLEETSEC to catch the truly evil stuff that the Forum's citizens can have so much freedom, even to do things that would be immoral and illegal in 21st century Western nations.
* ''Fanfic/TheInfiniteLoops'': Twilight Sparkle tells Pinkie Pie to let her full array of abilities loose on a 1984-esque Equestria, while Twilight goes to examine some moons for a while. The result? "FRIEND PINKIE PIE IS WATCHING YOU. [[spoiler:But only when it's not creepy.]]"
* In the Literature/{{Worm}} fanfic, FanFic/{{Intrepid}}, Grue (who just committed a HeelFaceTurn) is under constant surveillance by the PRT, including a sub-dermal bug in his skin, keylogging his computer, and possibly hidden cameras in his home. He doesn't learn about the latter two until after they tell him they know he got in touch with his old team and tell him not to do it again.

* ''Fanfic/FateRevelationOnline'': Diabel is well aware that they are all trapped inside a death game controlled by one man. He considers himself the "leader of the hostages," and tries to balance keeping Kayaba Akihiko happy with not indulging whatever his mysterious sinister goal is. So when he gets a message from Kayaba praising him for getting more people involved in the game (using some player slang), he gets ''very'' worried. He knows that he can't even talk about his worries openly, since Kayaba might be watching him at any moment, or possibly recording everything to peruse later at his leisure. The wrong word could get them all killed.
* ''Fanfic/{{Read The Fine Print|Evangelion}}'': When Shinji questions how Bwynvienne knows he and Asuka signed a soul-selling contract freely, the demoness replies they were being watched by agents of the Infernal Administration when their contact was being signed.
-->'''Shinji:''' ''"Wait, how do you know neither of us was forced to sign? We didn't see you when we put our signature on the contract."''\\
'''Bwynvienne:''' ''"When a contract is being signed, we are given pertinent information about the situation to ensure no duress or lies. If one of those had happened, the contract would have never come into effect. You may not see the Infernal Administration, but rest assured we see you."''\\
'''Shinji:''' ''"That's... not very assuring."''
* In the distant future ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' fanfic, ''Fanfic/ToTheStars'', a more benign version of this trope currently exists in that full universal income mostly exists (currently dampened by the necessities of interstellar warfare) and being socially libertarian in that almost anything legally goes as long as you don't hurt other people, everything is still monitored using subsentient AI that is supposed to alert a sophant AI or a human if someone is up to no good.

* Deconstructed in ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnoldTheMovie''. Yes, it was important for Sheck to record everything in his building the whole time to foil the kids' attempt to get the document from him. [[spoiler:[[HoistByHisOwnPetard But those same cameras can be used against him]] when they need an EngineeredPublicConfession]].

* In the 1959 ''Film/SantaClaus1959'' film featured on ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'', Santa has a device in space that can watch every kid on Earth. The machine itself is creepy too! It has giant lips! He also has a satellite with a human ear in the center, and a telescope with an eye.
-->'''Mike Nelson:''' Santa's tendrils reach far and wide! There is no escaping the CLAUS Organization!
* The leader in ''Film/{{Equilibrium}}'' was called Father. And he suppressed human emotion to maintain control.
* In ''Film/TheLivesOfOthers'', the main character serves as Big Brother.
* ''Film/MinorityReport'' actually has consumer-based ubiquitous surveillance as a plot point. People can have customized ads targeted at them based on retinal scans-triggered by ''walking through a mall''--and at one point the cops send tiny little robotic spiders to scan everyone in an apartment building they suspect the protagonist is in. The premise is that people can be arrested and imprisoned in a AndIMustScream prison simply due to clairvoyants seeing them committing crimes [[note]]Well, one specific crime: murder. At least at the time the movie takes place - at the start there are implications they might want to broaden the clairvoyants to foresee other crimes too.[[/note]] ''in the future''.
* ''Film/EagleEye'' has [[spoiler:the U.S. Government]] employing a spy MasterComputer to monitor everything, [[spoiler:including financials, to create profiles of citizens.]] Over the course of the movie, this computer [[spoiler:[[AIIsACrapshoot decides the human government isn't doing a good enough job and decides to usurp it]].]] How? [[{{Chessmaster}} By using hundreds of thousands of people's profiles to force them to do it or trick them into doing it]].
* In ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra'', the Joes (an international police force) identify the Baroness by using FacialRecognitionSoftware against pictures of every person in the world... an image library built up by secretly copying ''every digital photograph'' ever taken by ''anyone.''
* Unusually for a spy movie, the ''Film/JamesBond'' film ''Film/{{Spectre}}'' is [[LuddWasRight against this concept]] and even deconstructs it. While C/Max Denbigh constantly spouts the idea of total surveillance and believes the 00-agent program is obsolete because of it, [[DaChief M]] is more concerned about its undemocratic dangers, and even directly questions C if all the data that's going to be fed might actually end up in the wrong hands. M even wonders whether C's surveillance plan will be able to deal with morally difficult situations, wondering if someone who just sits with such technology would be capable of pulling a trigger and killing someone. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, Bond and M's suspicions regarding C and the Joint Intelligence Service/"Nine Eyes" program were ultimately proven right, since C turned out to be TheMole working for SPECTRE and the program itself is a Trojan horse for world domination. If the data from all that surveillance isn't kept secure, then it's a double-edged sword, since [[NebulousEvilOrganization SPECTRE]] had bankrolled the formation of the Centre for National Security, and with this, they can have unlimited backdoor access to all the data gathered from "Nine Eyes" and use it to stay ahead of the opposition and destroy their enemies, namely 007]].
* ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' features Batman, driven to the edge in his pursuit of The Joker, using [[spoiler:a machine that turns every cell phone in Gotham into a sonar imaging device. Batman himself cannot use the device. Only Lucius Fox can, and his disgust at such methods is ''why'' Batman chose to give control of it to him. Luckily, at the end of the film, Batman reveals the machine is rigged to self-destruct on Lucius's command after it's used to capture the Joker.]]
* San Angeles in ''Film/DemolitionMan''. Subverted in that most of the populace is more than eager to live under this surveillance.
* The ''Film/{{Cube}}'' film series:
** Discussed and actively defied in the first ''Cube'' by Worth. He reveals that he worked on the construction of the Cube, but when the other characters question who is ultimately responsible and secretly controlling and watching their lives, he explains that there is no leader, and the Cube is a public works project without a purpose, operating under the pretense of a grand plan. He caps it off with "Big Brother is not watching you."
** Inverted and played with in ''Film/CubeZero''. The Cube occupants are covertly monitored by the mysterious controllers of the Cube, but the film plays with this by [[BigBrotherIsEmployingYou making the two observers the focus characters]].
* Richard Vickers in ''Film/{{Creepshow}}'' has a thing for cameras, including using them in the murder of his wife and her lover.
* ''Film/GuyanaCrimeOfTheCentury'': Johnson goes to great lengths to ensure that no defamatory words are spoken against him, whether inside Johnsontown ''or outside'', and to this end he swears to inspect the letters written by the relatives of the people being held captive in the commune.
* In ''Film/ThePurge'', in the trailer, at the beginning of the Purge event, a loud, official voice sounds informing the populace that the Purge has begun, that emergency services are suspended, and some other information, ending with this gem: "Your government thanks you for your participation." It is unclear if the voice comes from the family's tv, radio, or outside public loudspeakers, but the intent and effect remain the same.

* In ''Film/{{Reality}}'', this trope is in play as Luciano auditions for the television show ''Series/BigBrother'' and begins to think they are watching him even outside the walls of the house.

* ''Film/TheAndersonTapes'' (1971). Creator/SeanConnery's character [[TheCaper plans the mass burglary of an apartment complex]], unaware that he's being watched at every stage by various official and unofficial surveillance teams. However because they all have different agendas, and no-one is cooperating with each other, the crime goes ahead.
* ''Film/VForVendetta'': Secret police are constantly monitoring British citizens for signs of dissent, not only by tapping their phones and presumably the Interlink (kind of a government-run Internet), but also even spying on their conversations from surveillance vans driving by.

* ''Film/ClosetLand'': The Interrogator tells the Author the government tapes all hospital room conversations to gain information, producing one she had while with her dying mother. He's also very well-informed about the Author overall, including intimate details of her personal life, thus the government is indicated to have spied on her for some time.

* Creator/IsaacAsimov:
** "Literature/TheDeadPast": The government has been trying to prevent the study and creation of more [[{{Chronoscope}} past-viewing devices]] because "the past" can be as recent as a hundredth of a second ago. If people have access to devices that can see anywhere in the world, then privacy is gone. In this case, the government is trying to stop Big Brother.
** "Literature/TrueLove": Milton tells Joe to send the 235 potential matches to get psychological evaluations, and it gets enough information from their sessions that it is able to analyze Milton the same way.
* In ''Literature/BadMonkeys'' by Matt Ruff, Panopticon watches and records everything...[[UnreliableNarrator Or do they?]]

* ''Literature/ADeepnessInTheSky'': The Emergents take over the Qeng Ho space fleet by force. LaResistance quickly forms, but one of the rebels discovers too late that the Emergents are watching ''everything'' they do, by using the Focus plague to create SlaveMooks who do nothing but monitor electronic surveillance. Later they use thousands of dust-sized cameras to watch over the Qeng Ho. [[spoiler:Fortunately they don't know the man who originally developed the cameras is in their midst and has a backdoor to the program.]]

* In the short story "[[Creator/PhilipKDick Faith of Our Fathers]]", all televisions are equipped with monitoring systems. When the Absolute Benefactor speaks through it, failure to be properly attentive is noted and monitors will arrive quickly to issue demerits.
* The planet Kegan in ''The Fight for Truth'', part of ''Literature/JediApprentice'', has a very small population and only one city. Its rulers, the [[WellIntentionedExtremist Benevolent Guides]], implemented increasing levels of surveillance to keep things running smoothly. Qui-Gon Jinn finds that intensely detailed records are kept of people even in their own homes - who they talk to, what they say, what they write and to whom. But children abducted for standing out - having a chronic illness, being Force-Sensitive, questioning the propaganda they're fed - have their records removed.

* In ''Literature/ForYourSafety'' the [[BenevolentAI Groupmind]] installs humanity on the Ring, a massive space station with 24-hour monitoring through cameras and additional monitoring by issuing everyone a [[RobotBuddy morph]]. Though its [[WellIntentionedExtremist intentions are benign]], even the Groupmind realizes the corrosive effect this will have on the human psyche.
* Once Katniss and Peeta become contestants in ''Literature/TheHungerGames'', cameras are waiting to capture every move they make. It's heavily implied that all of Panem, including the Capitol and Victors' houses, is under surveillance, leaving people afraid to say anything that might come off as negative about the Capitol. The only place where Katniss feels unobserved and free to say what she thinks is in the wilderness beyond the electric fence surrounding her district. However, President Snow even knows Gale and Katniss kissed in the woods outside District 12 and Katniss never does find out exactly how President Snow knew about the kiss. In addition to all this, the population is so extremely poor that there are always eyes and ears for hire for the government.

* The Ministry of Magic in ''Literature/HarryPotter'', especially Dolores Umbridge. [[spoiler: To drive the point home, when she pretty much takes over a huge chunk of the ministry in ''Deathly Hallows'', she's seen using Mad-Eye Moody's special eye replacement (which can see through walls, clothes and invisibility cloaks) embedded in her office door.]]
* AM in ''Literature/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream''. He's quite honest about wanting the characters to suffer. But they'll suffer ''his'' way, think ''his'' thoughts, and play ''his'' games. As he watches them. Forever.

* Creator/FranzKafka: The whole point of the short story "Before the Law" in the book ''The Trial''. And perhaps inverted in the parable "An Imperial Message", where the King is ultimately barred from contact with the narrator/average person. Given that both of these stories are written as parables (even in context) about God/meaning/identity in modern life/solitude (and what it might mean to be solitary in a modern society) rather than describing a panoptic state leaves the applicability of this trope open to question.

* ''Weaponised'' in''Literature/TheLaundryFiles''. The omnipresent surveillance cameras, which are all accessible by Laundry management, are also part of the "SCORPION STARE" network, being equipped with re-programmable chipsets that can convert them from simple surveillance to being technological [[DeadlyGaze basilisks]]. So not only is Big Brother most likely watching you, if he can see you, he can kill you stone dead with the flick of a switch.

* In ''Literature/{{Matched}}'' by Ally Condie, the Society watches most things people do. Even their dreams are recorded for irregularities and to gather statistics. The telescreens are called "ports" here.

* Big Brother, who is still watching, from ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' is the TropeNamer. Big Brother is the symbolic head of state over a totalitarian superstate that engages in pervasive SinisterSurveillance. He may or may not exist (or have ever existed) as an actual person.

* The Creator/PoulAnderson short story "Literature/SamHall" has the government doing, among other things, tracking where everyone in the country is from day to day. It all falls apart when the system fails to track down the title character, who is completely fictitious and was added into the system by the protagonist as a joke.

* ''Literature/TheStainlessSteelRat'' is a criminal who operates despite a surveillance-heavy society. In the first few pages of the original novel, he notes that not only is his identity recorded by taking his picture when he buys a ticket on a spaceship, ''there are optical bugs in the fitting rooms of clothing stores''. (It probably helps ordinary people cope with all this--a little bit anyway--that the police are mostly robots.)

* From 1921, twenty-eight years before ''1984'', comes Yevgeny Zamyatin's ''Literature/{{We}}'', set in the One State, a nation almost entirely built of glass, allowing the secret police to spy without needing cameras.

* ''Literature/WolfHall''

* Played with in the ''Literature/WWWTrilogy'' by Creator/RobertJSawyer. On one hand this trope is invoked in-universe by several characters who are uncomfortable with Webmind's emergence, however it is ultimately subverted; Webmind does have the ability to observe anything within range of a camera with even the remotest Internet connection and is able to access anything online, password or no password (and having an apparent inability to understand the concept of privacy), but they only use their abilities to help humanity.

* Examples from Creator/JanuszZajdel, the guy who loved his {{Dystopia}}:
** You can never know whether or not you're under surveillance in ''Paradyzja''. The locals just tend to assume that they are, hence several odd behaviours designed to confuse the automated systems.
** In ''Limes Inferior'', there's no official surveillance, because the Overzeroes have realised that whenever you spend money (and the GlobalCurrency there is electronic only) you give them their location. They do employ spies for watching specific people, if needed.

* ''Series/TheBarrier'': Outside of the enclave for the elites, there are surveillance drones in the street and each block has a government informer whose job seems to basically be a combination of professional NosyNeighbor and government propaganda parrot. Most people also need to use a UsefulNotes/PayPhone to makes calls or meet in person if neither side has their own phone, which greatly reduces the options for discrete communication. There are also undercover policemen in the most unlikely places.
* Everything in the ''Series/BlakesSeven'' Federation is taped, logged, and recorded in triplicate. Woe betide you if one of those recordings shows you conspiring or plotting or thieving or passing a political criminal the salt. You will vanish and no-one will remember you ever existed.
* ''Series/BraveNewWorld'': The higher-ups seem to know what everyone is doing at all times. Lenina is called in for her counseling by Bernard since they've monitored her sexual activities (which are deemed too monogamous), and have recordings of them all (to her discomfort). He isn't exempt either-he's reprimanded for briefly disconnecting himself from their computer network to have a bit of privacy. Both these things are deemed selfish, with Bernard even being accused of ''solipsism'' over it. Everybody has an ocular implant (OI) which lets them see what other people do when they want, making it more an ubiquitous sousveillance.
* ''{{Series/Colony}}'': The Bowmans' house is filled with concealed surveillance cameras in every room (including the bathroom) due to Katie's involvement with the Resistance. Additionally, the city is monitored by drones, and eventually put under even more surveillance, with hundreds of people viewing the populace.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E12TheSoundOfDrums "The Sound of Drums"]], after becoming Prime Minister of the UK, [[spoiler:the Master]] uses all of the tools of the modern security state to his advantage to spy on the Doctor, Martha and Jack.

* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' was an ironic inversion of this. Big brother was a big nuisance to "Big Brother".

* Mocked in the 1984 Special ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIQLhyDIjtI Good Morning,]] [[Creator/GeorgeOrwell Mr Orwell]]'', which boils the SinisterSurveillance into PunchClockVillain.

* In ''Series/TheLastEnemy'', the protagonist, a mathematician played by Creator/BenedictCumberbatch, comes back to London after 4 years in China to discover this trope in full effect. In fact, he is asked to be the spokesperson for a new computer system (called Total Information Awareness) meant to monitor ''everyone'' in order to keep the citizens safe. He has to go through a security checkpoint with a metal detector and an X-ray just to enter a church. The ending also reveals that [[spoiler:the disease affecting only Arabs was meant as a form of bio-tagging to further enforce this trope]].

** In the Season 4 episode "Wingman", Reese name drops this trope, but in reference to the Police's domain-awareness system (shown previously in Season 1 and 2), as opposed to the Machine [[spoiler:or Samaritan]].

* ''Series/{{Silo}}'': Judicial stamps out anybody who questions the structure of their community. Gloria turns on the faucet while asking Allison some subversive questions, claiming they have "listeners".

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine:'' The Cardassians, being the Orwellian civilisation they are, naturally have this, in the form of the Obsidian Order, who carefully monitor and log ''every'' detail about the average Cardassian citizen's life, including what they had for breakfast. And if it doesn't meet with their approval? People have been known to disappear for ''less''.

* ''Series/TheCapture'' is set in present day, but focuses on surveillance. It seems the security services can follow whoever they want for any reason, and intervene in anything, and ''everything'' is reordered on CCTV. Which can still be tampered with at times.

** {{Implied|Trope}} in "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS1E14ThirdFromTheSun Third from the Sun]]". William Sturka and Jerry Riden are plotting to steal an experimental spacecraft and settle on another planet in order to avoid an impending war. When Riden comes over to Sturka's house to discuss their plan, Sturka turns on the machinery in his workshop so that the authorities won't be able to pick up on their conversation with the listening devices that they have presumably placed in his house.
** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS2E42TheEyeOfTheBeholder Eye of the Beholder]]", when Dr. Bernardi wonders aloud why Janet Tyler and the others with her deformity can't simply be allowed to be different, the nurse warns him to be careful as he is speaking treason.
* In ''Series/ThePath'', the Meyerists' universal symbol is a stylized eye surrounded by rays of light, designed by producer Russell Barnes in a quasi-tribal/Egyptian style. It means spiritual insight, but also "you're being watched — you're ALWAYS being watched."
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'': In "Room 2426", Dr. Martin Decker was taken into custody by the State for allegedly displaying anti-social behavior and wrong thinking towards the State and has been diagnosed as schizophrenic. In reality, the State had Martin under observation as they believed that the bacteria that he has developed can be modified for use as a bioweapon.
* ''Series/ClassOf09'': In 2034 US citizens are more surveilled than ever by the AI system, and many are afraid to talk where they aren't watched as this could draw suspicion of wrongdoing. [[spoiler:This expands even further once Tayo gets fired as FBI director and replaced, with his successor supporting the system zealously.]] Protests against this erupted in the early days, turning violent, with many also moving to rural areas with no surveillance so they could escape.

* The mythical Christian emperor Prester John was believed to have among his treasures a mirror through with he could view any part of his realm or any of his subjects.
* Some sects view the Abrahamic {{God}} as this. He sees everything you do, hears everything you say, and knows if there was evil in your heart with your actions and words.

* Music/TheRealMcCoy's "Run Away" mentions the trope by name.
* Music/JudasPriest's "Electric Eye."
* Music/PetShopBoys' "Integral" is about a dystopian police state where everyone has a number and is constantly being spied on by government computers, written as a ProtestSong about the proposed government ID cards in Britain.
** Filk based on Yevgeny Zamyatin's ''We'' (see above).
* "Eye in the Sky" by Music/TheAlanParsonsProject.
* Referenced (and averted?) in Music/StevieWonder's "Big Brother".
* "Open Secret" by ''[=DJ=] Malente'' is all about this.
* Big Brother' by the Italo dance group Aleph (from the 1980s) is about this trope.
* "Circling Overland" by Music/{{Front 242}} describes a dystopia where surveillance drones rule the skies. [[HarsherInHindsight Remind you of what the US DHS is doing today?]]
* The debut album of Assemblage 23's side project Surveillance is titled ''Oceania'', referencing Orwell's ''1984'', as do many of the track titles.
* Implant's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hxez4n8kzNs "CCCPCCTV"]], whose video consists of a changing grid of security camera feeds, one of which is the blindfolded singer.
* ''Music/DiamondDogs'' by Music/DavidBowie has several tracks inspired by this concept.
* [[Music/SusumuHirasawa P-Model]]'s "Big Brother".

* Given that this was created by the charming team that gave us ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale'', where the Sheriff's Secret Police are constantly monitoring your every thought, word and deed, you might figure this would turn up sooner or later.

* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': The point of Mr. Conklin's "Project X" in the episode of the same name. Mr. Conklin's system allows him to listen in to what's going on in every room in the school, including the female faculty room, the boiler room, and the roof.

-->"Winston! How can you speak like that with Big Brother up your nose?"\\
"Oh, blow my nose! Don't you see, Julia? Big Brother ''isn't'' up my nose! He never ''was'' up my nose! He's not up anybody's nose! [[DontAsk He's not even up your blowhole!]]"
* ''[[Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook That Mitchell and Webb Sound]]:'' Spoofed when a pair of workers at the Ministry of Love phone a household up to tell the occupant their telescreen is broken, and it'll be ten to twelve weeks before they can get a man out, so they'll have to watch each other. The worker is then informed the woman's partner has already been arrested for thoughtcrime, so he informs her she'll have to watch ''herself''.
* ''"Radio/TheShadow Knows!"''

* ''Roleplay/ScaryNewsOutOfTokyo3'': Not only are there cameras everywhere in Tokyo-3, there are apparently PA speakers everywhere too.

* The conspiracies in ''TabletopGame/PsionicsTheNextStageInHumanEvolution'', especially The Shop, are experts at sniffing out espers. If you’ve manifested psionic talents, you’ll be found sooner or later, and probably the former.
* Players in ''TabletopGame/{{The Splinter}}'' are constantly being monitored. The government also monitors and arrests its citizens for committing thought crimes. It’s not quite so vigilant about preventing street crime in poor areas though.

* Orbital Mind Control Lasers are part of the multiple wacky conspiracies of SteveJacksonGames ''TabletopGame/{{Illuminati}}''
* The Computer in the ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'' TabletopRPG. The recent editions introduce Tension Levels, a default measure of how closely The Computer or one of Its agents is paying attention at any given point.
** For extreme levels of BlackComedy, bathrooms have the highest level possible. It's encouraged to have the GM kill off a player in one of them.
** This was later simplified to use the target's Treason Star rating, which is also visible to their fellow citizens thanks to their Cerebral Coretech implants.

** The Adeptus Arbites (think if ComicBook/JudgeDredd worked for Big Brother) and the [[ChurchMilitant Ecclesiarchy]] are ever-vigilant for signs of heresy, and would like like to remind you that [[GodEmperor the Emperor]] is watching. ''And'' the [[StateSec Inquisition]], although if you've caught ''their'' interest you're screwed.%%Even the Tau Empire gets in on this, to help them fit in with the setting.%%How?

* ''TabletopGame/FengShui'''s 2056 juncture, in keeping with 1984-style dystopian fiction, is all over this trope. The Buro uses bugs called Loyalty Roaches which are genetically-engineered roaches with miniature cameras and microphones to monitor the populace for signs of traitorous activity. The "ecologically safe" pesticides of 2056 won't kill those things, but bug sprays from the contemporary juncture do a bang up job on them, and are a nice sideline for secret warriors who operate in 2056.
* ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'': The Ministry of Panopticon of the Seers of the Throne. Their purpose is described as twofold. Use Space magic and advanced surveillance equipment to monitor and control the flow of information, and release ''just enough'' of what they learn through this into the public consciousness to create a pervading sense of paranoia, which will alter how people will act (if people think they are constantly being watched, then they will not act in a manner they don't want others to see). Their symbol is an enormous eye.
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'', everyone is near-constantly being monitored - but it isn't the big scary government that's watching. It's the big scary [[MegaCorp Megacorps]]. Every transaction you make, every ad you show interest in, your habits, your demographics, everything about you is observed and filed away so that they know how to get you to buy more stuff from them. Only if you make them lose money will they give a damn about you otherwise.
** ...[[SubvertedTrope And they suck at it]]. See, the big thing about private ownership is that they loathe loaning out information to other megacorps, which becomes a problem when one of those corps is [[LawEnforcementInc Lone Star]]. Add that to the interdepartmental rivalries, the hackability of camera networks, and the fact that most runners have two braincells to put together, and a runner can be halfway across the continent after Mr. Johnson (a term for an anonymous employer) has erased all record of transactions. Not to mention the setting's CyberpunkWithAChanceOfRain, which means that it's actually considered odd if you're not wearing AR sunglasses, a hat to protect yourself from Acid Rain, and a face respirator.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'':
** The Orb and the Scepter are two mighty artefacts that can be (and one of them is) used to control the population of a great city-state by making them perfectly obedient to the laws and orders of the ruler. Those who disobey get punished (based on the severity of their crime) by pain, agony or horrifying death, and all of this is inescapable. The population even has a magical eye-shaped mark on their left hand, and there are proclamations of "His eye is always upon you" everywhere in the city. There are also laws on dress code, with bright colors being forbidden for anyone who is not a member of the aristocracy. Veeeery creepy...
** During the First Age, the Solar scientist-queen Bright Shattered Ice created a flying city named Tzatli as essentially a gigantic art project, and kept an ''extremely'' close watch over her citizens to ensure that they did not deviate from her vision of a perfect, thriving city. A secret police and the city's built-in AI kept close tabs over everything the citizens said and did, and any break in their duties -- from being unproductive at work to being late for family time or arguing too loudly over dinner -- could get them disappeared at literally a moment's notice.
* In ''TabletopGame/EclipsePhase'' most of the solar system has embraced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sousveillance sousveillance]]. Rather than the government watching everyone everyone watches each other, including the government (assuming the habitat even has one). Naturally this often proves inconvenient to Firewall sentinels, fortunately there are ways around the lack of privacy.
** The Jovian Junta, being the most authoritarian faction left in the system, plays this trope very straight on the other hand.
* In ''{{TabletopGame/Eberron}}'' the country of Zilargo has this in full effect. However the place is a [[CityOfSpies country of spies]], so you spy on your neighbors, your neighbors spy on you, both of you spy on the shopkeepers, the shopkeepers spy on you, your neighbors, and their neighbors, [[OverlyLongGag all the above are spied on by the]] SecretPolice which are pretty much regular police but they like to creep around. It gets to the point where the Gnomes of the country relax when everyone is spying on them and get very paranoid when no one is watching them.
* All the [[MegaCorp Corps]] in ''[[TabletopGame/{{Netrunner}} Android: Netrunner]]'' fulfil this to some extent, but it is NBN who specialise in it. Flavor-wise, they control over half of the world's media and have a monopoly over network infrastructure. This translates to them having a much easier time gaining information on the runner, 'tagging' them and then either attacking them directly or pushing through agendas while the runner is trying to remove tags.

* In ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' and ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'', along with ''VideoGame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'', Helios is ''always'' watching Pandora. It was even built for that very purpose! Oh, and if [[BigBad Handsome]] [[ClassicVillain Jack]] notices any Vault Hunters, Crimson Raiders or bandits that he doesn't like, he'll use his moonshot cannon to open fire at them, or send his killer robots. As well as that, pictures of his visage are plastered everywhere, and his personal army and construction workers worship him as a god.

* ''VideoGame/CivilizationCallToPower''
** The game has two wonders which play this straight, [[GovernmentAgencyOfFiction The Agency]] and the [[MasterComputer AI Entity]]. The AI Entity in particular is terrifying--[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPuU8Pq9D3Q&NR=1 see for yourself]], but the Agency [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-GymYlnV2I&NR=1 doesn't lack for disturbing]], either.

** While poking around the [[AfterTheEnd ruins]] of Washington D.C. in ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' you can explore a demo Vault, in which the audio guide assures you that if you're "Concerned about security? Our Eye-On-You camera allows the Overseer to watch your every move. You'll never be alone again!" There are also the mysterious Eyebots roaming the wasteland, blaring patriotic music and propaganda about [[TheRemnant the Enclave]], and which can sometimes be spotted silently staring at people.

* The Office of Naval Intelligence in ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' is the main one in the UNSC in the 26th century. Quite frankly, they know what you did, what you are doing, and if they give an AI enough time to analyze the data, they'll know what you're ''going'' to do. It is supremely difficult for even the most paranoid person to secure themselves against ONI surveillance, and if they think you're an enemy, they can ''ruin'' you. They can [[ARG/HuntTheTruth close your bank accounts, alter messages in-transit, even break into your apartment]], take all your furniture and belongings, smash all the floors and walls searching for hidden objects, and then ''have the building condemned and closed''.
** The Colonial Administration Authority in the colonies is a case of this too. Almost everything is tracked and controlled by a city's "grid", up to and including cars. It's noted that going off the grid is difficult; cars won't drive you, you can't have a bank account, and (for some reason) [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the door at the convenience store won't open for you]].
** The Forerunners in their prime ramp this up, of course. The Ecumene had the capability to listen in on all personal communications. Notably, several high-ranking members of the government were unaware of this fact, and decried it as "spying on the citizens." Such communications were only monitored by ancillas, however, and only brought to the attention of organic Forerunners in the event of disasters or events involving alien species. They could also track any and all ships making slipspace journeys in the galaxy, provided they traveled along rational paths. The Didact managed to avoid having his ship tracked by making an irrational jump into a sharply inclined orbit far "above" the galactic plane.

* In the 3.0 update for ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'', everyone who enters the nation of [[ArabianNightsDays Sumeru]] is issued a high-tech earpiece called an Akasha Terminal, with an {{Augmented Reality}} heads-up display and a [[BrainComputerInterface 24/7 uplink]] to the nation's wealth of scientific knowledge (well, [[ConvenientlyInterruptedDocument most of it]], anyways...) allowing scholars to upload and share new knowledge to further scientific advancement regardless of whether they're residents or just visiting. [[spoiler:The Akademiya, which is both the most prestigious institution of higher-learning in Teyvat and also Sumeru's government, uses the Akasha Terminal to scan the minds of sleepers to [[DreamStealer steal their dreams and enrich itself with the knowledge]] of everyone in Sumeru and also effect {{Mass Hypnosis}} on everyone in Sumeru City during the [[LotusEaterMachine Sabzeruz Fesitval]] to suppress worship of Lesser Lord Kusanali.]] Dehya speculates that this is also to [[spoiler:create [[HiveMind a neural network]] capable of solving highly complex scientific quandaries.]] However, the reasons exactly 'why' the [[spoiler:Akademiya]] are doing this are still a mystery to the Traveler and Paimon.
* [[VichyEarth The Combine]] from ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' employ Scanners that monitor and photograph citizens out on the street, causing a BlindingCameraFlash. There's even a combat synth variation that can additionally drop hopper mines and locate targets for other units including the enormous Striders.

* In ''Franchise/MassEffect''

* Between the propaganda videos and the giant billboards advertising the glory of Sunshine Inc. everywhere, it's not too surprising in ''VideoGame/{{Pikuniku}}'' when you start to notice the little surveillance cameras peeping out from behind the adorable scenery and watching your every move.
* [[BlatantLies Averted]] in ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}''. The Vital Testing Apparatus is crucial to your success, and [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial is not monitoring you at all.]] Please do not destroy the Vital Testing Apparatus. In addition, Aperture Science must also note that the windows overlooking all testing chambers are not used for observation purposes either. [[spoiler:After all, how could the scientists observe you if all of them are dead?]]
** You can get achievements by breaking down security cameras.
* ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld:'' While all factions are in on the spying business, the Illuminati are particularly good at it, keeping tabs perfectly on their own subordinates and anyone they interact with. And then there's the top of their hierarchy, the Pyramidion, who's got a globe-encompassing surveillance network that can follow you just about everywhere, never losing track of you even as you chase someone actively trying to get lost in Seoul for example. The only time he was actually blind as to what was happening during that chase was a brief dip into "the weird part of [[HollowEarth Agartha]]". "The all-seeing eye" indeed.

* The intro to ''VideoGame/{{Vector}}'' shows a highly-totalitarian conformist society, with the government watching and controlling everyone. When the protagonist has had enough, he throws his headphones (which also serve as a form of ID) on the floor and runs away. The whole game is about him running away from the [[{{Thoughtcrime}} Thought Police]].
* ''VideoGame/VegaStrike'' has [[http://vegastrike.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/vegastrike/trunk/masters/animations/load_screen.ani/splash_cisb.jpg?view=markup these]] posters (in one LoadingScreen) for Confed [[SecretPolice IntelSec]]. Sleep well, citizen! The image moved around a little, but according to metadata was made in 2003 (see RealLife section for possible inspirations).

* In ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'', Blume not only has information on every inhabitant of Chicago through [=ctOS=], it is also secretly monitoring people, as you find out hacking into the databases of the [=ctOS=] Control Centers. And yes, they do proclaim that their surveillance is for a greater good on their advertisements, for a more direct ''1984'' effect. The fact that the protagonist has hijacked said surveillence system to use for a vigilante campaign and/or [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential his own personal amusement]] only makes this assertion ring even more hollow.
** Even worse is Blume's long-term plan - they don't intend to blackmail or even ''hypnotize'' anyone; why use fallible mind control when you can just use the world's most intelligent surveillance system to decide what ads need to be placed and which news stories to spin to ''control public opinion with all the nails in the city''. ''It works'' (one dissident tests out the system by introducing the Fibonacci code into [[=ctOS=]] - by the end of the month ''Fibonacci has become Chicago's number one meme'', direct references to Fibonacci were limited). Big brother isn't just watching - he's ''working''.

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': In Volume 7, Ruby's group are disturbed to see just how much of a police state Mantle has become since Volume 3; soldiers and robot drones are everywhere, while videos of General Ironwood spewing propaganda play. After "A Night Off", where [[PsychoForHire Tyrian]] has framed [[RobotGirl Penny]] for killing people at a gathering, Ironwood outlaws the right to public assembly and instigates a curfew. And the truly tragic thing is how pointless these "precautions" turn out to be. Because Mantle's [[EverythingIsOnline cyberspace]] is so outdated, [[EvilGenius Watts]] is able to hack any security camera, giving him and Tyrian free rein of the city.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* A big part of ''Webcomic/EverythingIsFine''. Along with being a glaring CrapsaccharineWorld with any number of secrets beneath the surface, everyone is being tracked, monitored with bugs in their houses, and even watched via cameras in their neighborhoods. And on top of that, it appears that all parents have the safety of their own children being held over their heads to keep them knuckled under whatever/whoever is in charge of it all; [[spoiler: breaking the rules leaves the parents designated to [[{{Unperson}} red-status]] and forced to watch their children commit suicide.]]

'''Jackson:''' Really? I've always thought of myself as disarmingly courteous.
** And:
--->'''Marie:''' Oh, look, Reed's Facebook status says he's applying for a job! Wait, mine says I'm at your place. I don't remember writing that.\\

** '''Somewhat subverted'''. The main characters are in what is meant to be a prison after all and should expect to be under constant surveillance. But the one time Vengari/Big Red [[http://monstersoupcomic.com/page/ch4-p54-the-infirmary/ acts on what he sees]] [[http://monstersoupcomic.com/page/ch4-p53-hidden-camera/ in the hidden camera]] it really is to help people who have been hurt.
** Both '''subverted''' and '''played straight'''. '''Subverted''' in that after bringing Bo, Pepper, Amanita, Noni, and Momo in to a medical area to treat them, Vengari, himself a Big Brother, [[spoiler:removes a TrackingDevice left by some other, unknown group in Bo]] and '''played straight''' [[spoiler:in so far as the TrackingDevice was put in Bo without his knowledge by some unknown group.]]

* ''Webcomic/NobodyScores'': [[http://nobodyscores.loosenutstudio.com/index.php?id=405 in one series]], the NSA produces a tentacled, many-eyed machine that is installed in your home and tracks everything about you for marketing purposes. It also detects terrorists "before they happen". People buy them quite willingly.

-->'''Drone''': [[HypocriticalHumor That's a violation of my privacy]]!

* ''Webcomic/{{Skyvein}}'': The Visual Information and Surveillance Network, or [[FunWithAcronyms VISN]] for short, watches everyone at all times.

* From the Venezuelan NewsParody ''[[Blog/ElChiguireBipolar Chigüire Bipolar]]'': [[http://www.elchiguirebipolar.net/29-06-2015/maduro-el-cne-me-entrego-el-historial-de-internet-de-todos-ustedes/ Maduro: The National Electoral Council gave me the internet history of all of you]], written after the RealLife president Maduro claimed to know who did and didn't vote in their primaries.

* On their website and Twitter page, Website/MenInBlazers warns their followers that whatever they notify them for in a tweet might be retweeted onto the Men in Blazers account for all the world to see. Meaning that negative messages and cowardly criticisms might be read by the [=MiB=] team, and even responded to.

* In the ''Website/CollegeHumor'' sketch, "If the Other Party Wins," in the "If the Republican Party Wins" ImagineSpot, a little girl is asked by her parents how her day was. She replies that it was an okay day, she missed the [[HummerDinger Hummer]] that morning, "and then it was a little cloudy." A camera turns on her, and her mother replies, "Sweetness, you know better than to criticize your country... WHICH SHE LOVES!" This causes the camera to turn the laser off and turn away.
* WebVideo/FishtankLive is a 24/7 livestream parodying ''Series/BigBrother'' which plays into this trope. One of the show's big gimmicks is that the entire house is constantly monitored, meaning any action taken by the contestants could be being watched by thousands of people at any one time.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** In the "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E6TreehouseOfHorrorV Treehouse of Horror V]]" story "Time and Punishment", Homer jumps from one AlternateUniverse to another. In one of them, Ned Flanders uses methods that fit this trope as "overall lord and master of the world".
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E21BartMangledBanner Bart-Mangled Banner]]", after Bart accidentally moons the American flag and the town suddenly becomes hyper-patriotic, Lisa cites the First Amendment (the freedom of speech) in Springfield Church, Reverend Lovejoy comments "I'm sure your opinion will not go unnoticed", to which a SWATTeam raids the church and arrests the Simpsons for violating the "Government-Knows-Best Act", which itself was a parody of the real-life PATRIOT Act.
** Springfield becomes like this in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS21E20ToSurveilWithLove To Surveil with Love]]" when they hire a man from Great Britain to install cameras all through the town. Ned Flanders is employed as one of the monitors and soon has the Big Brother complex. In fact, in his MyGodWhatHaveIDone speech, he lampshades it by saying that he just wanted to be a [[MoralityPet Little Sister]] instead of a Big Brother. He and Homer then [[RedemptionQuest go around the city shooting the cameras with shotguns]]. [[spoiler:Then we find out the camera footage was being sent back to Great Britain [[TrumanShowPlot as a sitcom]].]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'' anniversary special, Buttercup's fantasy of how the world would be if ruled by her included a propaganda titled "Big Butter is Watching You" where she threatened to punch anyone who didn't follow her rule.
* On ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'', Princess Bubblegum's antics as ruler of the Candy Kingdom often have disturbing implications; but in the episode "You Made Me" we get to find out that she has CCTV cameras ''all over the place''. While the Candy People are outraged to learn that the Earl of Lemongrab regularly sneaks into their bedrooms to watch them while they sleep, ''nobody'' seems to question the fact that ''their own princess is constantly spying on them.'' Though "Graybles 1000+" reveals Starchy is aware Bubblegum implanted a tracking chip in his tooth, and he attempts to get away from her surveillance by sticking the tooth into a lard.

* ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'', "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS2E4TaskForceX Task Force X]]": Clock King shows the Task Force X team some videos with the heroic exploits of Captain Atom, Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter with [[ScareChord ominous music]]. This trope is justified because Task Force X is a Black Ops from the American government... comprised of known supervillains, so they could have used [[SinisterSurveillance spies]] or simply got access to any footage reporters or civilians got about the super heroes.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw'' episode "Blackwatch Plaid" Phil employs this trope in response to the theft of all his (nonexistent) furniture. He's pretty blatant about the fact that he's spying on his employees, too.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Ba Sing Se has the [[SecretPolice Dai Li]] capture anyone who mentions the hundred-year war within the walls of the city.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Variant. Princess Luna has domain over all dreams, and often the first sign that a character is having a nightmare is when Princess Luna shows up. For the most part, this is portrayed positively, with Luna helping ponies work through their problems that are causing their nightmares. However, the comics reference the darker side, with Luna's rather casual disregard for privacy allowing her to know secrets that ponies have literally never spoken aloud.
* Seems to be Imp's primary function in Netflix's ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower''. Many if his scenes involve him skulking about the Fright Zone, and his big contributions to the story has been him [[spoiler:playing back key conversations Catra has had to Hordak.]]

* In ''VideoGame/NoUmbrellasAllowed'', Ajik City is constantly under surveillance by AVAC, an organization that arrests people of "Avarice Crimes" and "Fixes" them with an [[EmotionSuppression emotion-suppressing drug.]] Each citizen is being tracked in the Citizen Discourse Data, and their personal information can be used against them anytime. [[spoiler:It's also legally sold to those with a low Renunciation Rate starting on Week 5.]]

* ''Anime/PsychoPass'' has this as an ExaggeratedTrope. The Sibyl System doesn't just monitor people, it tells them everything they are supposed to do with their life and ''watches every thought that every person has''. You can't even think about committing a crime without having police come to send you to therapy or arrest you and put in an asylum. If the Sibyl System thinks you're dangerous enough, the police's guns will shift into lethal mode when they target you.

Yes, this is TruthInTelevision, but there is [[Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease no need to go into specifics]]. Not only does surveillance exist in every country, but putting real life examples here is NoRealLife/TooControversial and perfect bait for a FlameWar, [[EvenEvilHasStandards which is quite]] [[AndThatsTerrible repulsive, really]]. (Also, you can find most of the examples at the Real Life sections of the SecretPolice and StateSec articles.) All we ask is that you go about your life, secure in the knowledge that, no matter where you are, [[SelfDemonstratingArticle We Are Watching]]. But this can [[AnalogyBackfire also be interpreted]] to mean that there has to be a Big Brother in charge so as to take care of his little brothers. [[noreallife]]

* ''VideoGame/IRobot'' has an eye of the Big Brother watching the Unhappy Interface Robot #1984 above of the incomplete pyramid. If it catches the robot jumping, it'll zap the robot to pieces.
* [[BlatantLies Averted]] in ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}''. The Vital Testing Apparatus is crucial to your success, and [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial is not monitoring you at all.]] Please do not destroy the Vital Testing Apparatus. In addition, Aperture Science must also note that the windows overlooking all testing chambers are not used for observation purposes either. [[spoiler:After all, how could the scientists observe you if all of them are dead?]]
** You can get achievements by breaking down security cameras.

* In ''Franchise/MassEffect''
** The Batarians seem to have this kind of society. They are known have an extensive propaganda program, travel within their space is highly restricted, and the Batarian worlds you can visit are all noted to be circled by spy satellites on the lookout for "enemies of the State."
** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', if the player let the Citadel Council die in the previous game, it's implied the Citadel is starting to go this way in a conversation with the VI Avina. Shepard and co. grumbling about the increased security measures are met with a chipper note that their comments have been logged. Oh, and a C-Sec operative might be along to speak with them shortly, and they should ''co-operate''...
* ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' has (at least) a sly little ShoutOut to this trope, in the form of a security camera labelled "Big Bro Security Systems" in an opening cinematic.
** In fact, if you look closely ''all'' of the security cameras have this label. FridgeHorror, perhaps?
* ''VideoGame/{{Orwell}}'' has you playing as a foreign investigator spying on suspected criminals and terrorists in a surveillance state known only as "The Nation". You go through their social media, blog posts, bank accounts, web history, and even remotely access files on their electronic devices and upload all relevant information to a massive database named after George Orwell himself.
* While poking around the [[AfterTheEnd ruins]] of Washington D.C. in ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' you can explore a demo Vault, in which the audio guide assures you that if you're "Concerned about security? Our Eye-On-You camera allows the Overseer to watch your every move. You'll never be alone again!" There are also the mysterious Eyebots roaming the wasteland, blaring patriotic music and propaganda about [[TheRemnant the Enclave]], and which can sometimes be spotted silently staring at people.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'', the Institute keeps watch over the Commonwealth using synths, many of which are dopplegangers of people they have abducted. [[spoiler:The mayor of Diamond City is one such synth, reporting to the Synth Retention Bureau on any escaped synths that enter the town and manipulating the town to their goals.]]
* ''VideoGame/VegaStrike'' has [[http://vegastrike.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/vegastrike/trunk/masters/animations/load_screen.ani/splash_cisb.jpg?view=markup these]] posters (in one LoadingScreen) for Confed [[SecretPolice IntelSec]]. Sleep well, citizen! The image moved around a little, but according to metadata was made in 2003 (see RealLife section for possible inspirations).

** Also, after most advanced technology fails during the Collapse (magic disappearing from Stark, which likely enabled this tech in the first place), everyone in the world has to go back to older tech. In order to prevent another Collapse, the Eye demands that all electronic devices be connected to the Wire, a worldwide network, which can be easily used to monitor devices. It is highly illegal to hack your device (e.g. cell phone) to block any Eye spyware, although a lucrative market exists for the hacks.
* ''VideoGame/DMCDevilMayCry'' features a human world being controlled by demons who spy humanity.
* The intro to ''VideoGame/{{Vector}}'' shows a highly-totalitarian conformist society, with the government watching and controlling everyone. When the protagonist has had enough, he throws his headphones (which also serve as a form of ID) on the floor and runs away. The whole game is about him running away from the [[{{Thoughtcrime}} Thought Police]].
* ''VideoGame/CivilizationCallToPower''
** The game has two wonders which play this straight, [[GovernmentAgencyOfFiction The Agency]] and the [[MasterComputer AI Entity]]. The AI Entity in particular is terrifying--[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPuU8Pq9D3Q&NR=1 see for yourself]], but the Agency [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-GymYlnV2I&NR=1 doesn't lack for disturbing]], either.
** The AI surveillance technology, and the security monitor improvement made available by that technology, suggest this quite strongly.
** The Technocracy government is based on doing this on a large scale.

* ''VideoGame/{{Starbound}}'''s Apex race is completely governed by one of these, the Miniknog (an abbreviation for Ministry of Knowledge, for full ''1984'' flavoring), which has their citizens issued standard-issue furniture, with even buying ''a different colored fish'' from the one you're supposed to have is grounds to make you disappear, and where even the ''clocks'' have cameras watching their owners. The Apex PC is a fleeing member of a failed rebellion, and will often make references to a less-than-enjoyable past under the Miniknog.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'', not even the freaking [[spoiler:''save points'']] are safe! They're mass-produced by [[spoiler:Solaris]] to keep watch over the protagonists! ''Is nothing sacred?!''
* In ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'', Blume not only has information on every inhabitant of Chicago through [=ctOS=], it is also secretly monitoring people, as you find out hacking into the databases of the [=ctOS=] Control Centers. And yes, they do proclaim that their surveillance is for a greater good on their advertisements, for a more direct ''1984'' effect. The fact that the protagonist has hijacked said surveillence system to use for a vigilante campaign and/or [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential his own personal amusement]] only makes this assertion ring even more hollow.
** Even worse is Blume's long-term plan - they don't intend to blackmail or even ''hypnotize'' anyone; why use fallible mind control when you can just use the world's most intelligent surveillance system to decide what ads need to be placed and which news stories to spin to ''control public opinion with all the nails in the city''. ''It works'' (one dissident tests out the system by introducing the Fibonacci code into [[=ctOS=]] - by the end of the month ''Fibonacci has become Chicago's number one meme'', direct references to Fibonacci were limited). Big brother isn't just watching - he's ''working''.

* In ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' and ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'', along with ''VideoGame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'', Helios is ''always'' watching Pandora. It was even built for that very purpose! Oh, and if [[BigBad Handsome]] [[ClassicVillain Jack]] notices any Vault Hunters, Crimson Raiders or bandits that he doesn't like, he'll use his moonshot cannon to open fire at them, or send his killer robots. As well as that, pictures of his visage are plastered everywhere, and his personal army and construction workers worship him as a god.
* ''VideoGame/CantrII'': Part of the allure of the game, is roleplaying in this sort of world, without the physical danger of this. If you come to the notice of staff, you *will* be punished, months later at their leisure for the flimsiest of reasons.
* The Office of Naval Intelligence in ''{{Franchise/Halo}}'' is the main one in the UNSC in the 26th century. Quite frankly, they know what you did, what you are doing, and if they give an AI enough time to analyze the data, they'll know what you're ''going'' to do. It is supremely difficult for even the most paranoid person to secure themselves against ONI surveillance, and if they think you're an enemy, they can ''ruin'' you. They can [[ARG/HuntTheTruth close your bank accounts, alter messages in-transit, even break into your apartment]], take all your furniture and belongings, smash all the floors and walls searching for hidden objects, and then ''have the building condemned and closed''.
** The Colonial Administration Authority in the colonies is a case of this too. Almost everything is tracked and controlled by a city's "grid", up to and including cars. It's noted that going off the grid is difficult; cars won't drive you, you can't have a bank account, and (for some reason) [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the door at the convenience store won't open for you]].
** The Forerunners in their prime ramp this up, of course. The Ecumene had the capability to listen in on all personal communications. Notably, several high-ranking members of the government were unaware of this fact, and decried it as "spying on the citizens." Such communications were only monitored by ancillas, however, and only brought to the attention of organic Forerunners in the event of disasters or events involving alien species. They could also track any and all ships making slipspace journeys in the galaxy, provided they traveled along rational paths. The Didact managed to avoid having his ship tracked by making an irrational jump into a sharply inclined orbit far "above" the galactic plane.
* ''{{VideoGame/Beholder}}'' is a simulation game in which you play a "State-installed landlord" at an apartment building in a totalitarian dictatorship. You must spy on your tenants and report any crimes they commit (from owning illegal goods to making drugs to plotting against the government). Alternatively, you can blackmail them and earn extra money to supplement your meager government salary, or you can even look the other way, putting your own life at risk to help them.
* ''Videogame/TheSecretWorld:'' While all factions are in on the spying business, the Illuminati are particularly good at it, keeping tabs perfectly on their own subordinates and anyone they interact with. And then there's the top of their hierarchy, the Pyramidion, who's got a globe-encompassing surveillance network that can follow you just about everywhere, never losing track of you even as you chase someone actively trying to get lost in Seoul for example. The only time he was actually blind as to what was happening during that chase was a brief dip into "the weird part of [[HollowEarth Agartha]]". "The all-seeing eye" indeed.