History Main / SinisterSurveillance

* The [[TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening Seers of the Throne]] have the Ministry of Panopticon, dedicated to both creating a surveillance state and creating the ''perception'' of a surveillance state. If you're being watched, you're being judged. If you're being judged, you won't take risks. If you don't take risks, you don't Awaken.

* ''Webcomic/{{Unsounded}}'': The Vits Council uses the Dammakhert as an autocratic surveillance systems, with which they spy on, keep control of and "sting" dissidents among the populace of Alderode.

* The United Kingdom: 4.2 million cameras, one for every 14 people (approx) the Oyster card system which keeps track of your travel in the last month. ID cards scheme: cancelled.
** Most all of those cameras are in private hands, however, and it seems that a good 80% don't provide good enough footage for a criminal court. Also, those Oyster Cards? They just have your bus (and train and tube) fare. And the government only wants records of between whom the e-mail was sent, not any of its content. Rather anticlimactic, really, but the government's anti-welfare fraud [[PublicServiceAnnouncement Government Information Adverts]] ''must'' have taken lessons from ''[[Literature/NineteenEightyFour 1984]]''. As for London Transport's "Safe Under The Watchful Eyes" poster, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was created by a [[WriterRevolt disgruntled designer]] ''intentionally'' alluding to ''1984''.

* ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'': A morally gray example. [[spoiler:Mika Harima]], due to her stalker tendencies has been known to monitor people. However, in order to protect Seiji, she ''bugs almost every single cast member'' and fills Seiji's room to the brim with them. It's even canonically stated she knows more than even Izaya does about the happenings in Ikebukuro. Do not underestimate her. This girl is a stalker on ''steroids''.

* {{Played with}} in the remake of ''Film/TheManchurianCandidate'' when Marco goes to the library to do his research. Marco notices a surveillance camera in the library and this feeds his paranoia even though nobody in particular was spying on him.

This trope is usually part of an [[AnAesop Aesop]] against government surveillance. When used by a civilian outside of military or federal employ, the individual is either a StalkerWithoutACrush, or a licensed PrivateInvestigator or BountyHunter. See also SurveillanceAsThePlotDemands and BigBrotherIsWatching.

** ''ComicBook/TheOtherSideOfDoomsday'': After she, Iris West and Jean Loring have been teleported into a strange dungeon, ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} knocks one guardian robot out and proceeds to set Iris and Jean free...unaware that her actions are being video-monitored by villain T.O. Morrow from a hidden room.

* ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'': The [[ThoseWackyNazis fascist]] party Norsefire uses these, linked to a computer system called [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Fate]]. Whom the leader of said fascist party is [[{{Squick}} in love with]]. V is [[GambitIndex acutely aware]] of this fact.

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':

* In ''Film/SuperMarioBros'' Koopa's tower includes an audio-visual communication system, letting him keep tabs on prisoners, issue propaganda to the city, and order pizza.

* ''Film/EagleEye'' has [[spoiler:the [[AIIsACrapshoot evil AI]]]] use pretty much every terrorism inspired countermeasure to empower the two {{Action Survivor}}s to evade every law enforcement agency out for them. Somewhat justified since [[spoiler:she was expressly ''given'' many of these faculties.]]

* In ''Film/TheTallBlondManWithOneBlackShoe'', an innocent man is tagged as a spy by a government guy to distract another government guy. As he walks though the airport, agents are secretly taking his picture - but since he's eating a chewy candy that's stuck in his teeth, every shot of him has his face oddly contorted.
%%* ''Film/EnemyOfTheState''

* In the final act of ''Film/ThePresidentsAnalyst'' from 1967 the title character is abducted in a phone booth under the noses of the two American and Russian agents trying to secure his safety. The American concludes the booth (and all the phones in the country) were tapped; the Russian incredulously replies "Don! This is America, not Russia!"
* In ''Film/TheLivesOfOthers'', the Stasi rig Dreyman's house.
* {{Played with}} in the remake of ''Film/TheManchurianCandidate'' when Marco goes to the library to do his research. Marco notices a surveillance camera in the library and this feeds his paranoia even though nobody in particular was spying on him.

* In ''Film/ExMachina'', even when Nathan isn't present, his security cameras are watching, making Caleb grow increasingly uncomfortable and paranoid. He even had one behind Caleb's mirror, and [[spoiler:had another that was battery-powered in Ava's room, allowing him to know Caleb's plan to help Ava]].

* In ''Film/{{Annie 2014}}'', Stacks Mobile [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything collects and monitors data on their users]]. This later does come in handy, being used to try and track down Annie's parents and [[spoiler:to locate her whereabouts when she is kidnapped by the fake parents at the end of the film]].

* ''Film/AwaitFurtherInstructions'' has this with the [[MeaningfulName Milgram's]] television, which prints teletext instructions for the family to follow, which become increasingly specific and malicious.

* In the ''LightNovel/AccelWorld'' series, Japan has implemented the "social camera" scheme - a network of camera pods in every street and building, which use an AI to detect criminal behaviour. This has had a big impact on crime rates, though [[InsecurityCamera most people know of a blindspot or two in places they go regularly]]. More importantly, this camera network has a backdoor used by the underground Brain Burst program to generate [[{{Cyberspace}} the eponymous Accelerated World]] - a complete VR replica of Japan which accelerates its users' minds so that they [[YearInsideHourOutside experience hours of subjective time in an instant]]. Because the Tokyo Imperial Palace is one of the few places without any social cameras, in Brain Burst's game mode its interior is replaced by TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon. The fifth book, ''The Floating Starlight Bridge'', centres around an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyhook_(structure) orbital skyhook]] being connected to the social camera system and what effects it will have on Brain Burst.

* In Daniel Suarez' ''Literature/{{Daemon}}'', during a meeting of top government [=TLA=]s, one of them orders the UsefulNotes/{{NSA}} to track down the Daemon and everyone associated using Echelon. In a realistic subversion of this trope, [=NSA=] explains that the Daemon is using a sophisticated [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darknet_%28file_sharing%29 darknet]] for all its communications, and anyway, Echelon doesn't really work like that.

* Public transportation systems as buses, trains, etc. often have cameras. However, they're more as a deterrence against vandalism than anything else -not that vandals care too much about them-, and the vehicle's driver must often turn on them to start recording when there's trouble onboard, assuming (s)he's not watching.

* Thanks to the [[ShockAndAwe Rumble-Rumble Fruit]], and coupled with his [[CombatClairvoyance Mantra]], [[PsychoElectro Eneru]] from ''Manga/OnePiece'' can hear everything that's being said on Skypiea and know everyone's location.

* Barbara Gordon -alias ComicBook/{{Oracle}} and formerly ''Comicbook/{{Batgirl}}''- uses her surveillance of Gotham to help heroes on various missions, but she also watches Dick Grayson -alias ''Comicbook/{{Nightwing}}''- in his apartment. It's not known if he knows (he did grow up with Batman, who uses the same methods). If her own cameras are not sufficient she will hack someone else's.
* In ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}''/''Comicbook/{{Batgirl}}'' story ''ComicBook/ElseworldsFinestSupergirlAndBatgirl'', Batgirl created her "Oracle" network to watch the entirety of Gotham. She isn't interested in spying on average, honest people, and she only wants to stop criminals right away and keep parahumans out of her city, but it's creepy.
* Parodied in the 16th issue of ''The Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century'', a comic book tie-in to the ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' animated series. What looks like an enigmatic villain observing the heroes and President Wazzo on a monitor turns out to be Starfinger watching a television set while it's still on display at a store so he doesn't have to buy it.

* In the ''Literature/MurdochMysteries'' episode "Pendrick's Planetary Parlour", when Crabtree leaves the police to join Pendrick's latest venture (a [[TheAlternet sort of internet]] based on "cellular telegraph" and the analytical engine), one of the first things he notices is that there are televisual cameras everywhere. When he gets told off by his immediate supervisor for eating at his desk, he realises the cameras are being monitored by the supervisor [[spoiler: which is corroberating evidence for the eventual realisation that the supervisor is the criminal]].

* In ''Series/{{Homeland}}, Carrie Mathison watches Brody's life through a series of cameras and mikes she has installed at his house.
* In ''[[Series/BlakesSeven Blake's 7]]'', the Federation's almighty presence is frequently signified by those white security cameras that show up everywhere, even the teaser.

* In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' [[spoiler:Dr. Zola]] explains that pulling this off is relatively simple due to social media, credit reports, and other relatively passive means of observing the populace. The only real difficulty identifying threats is meaningfully combining that data [[spoiler:which is why Zola developed an [=AI=] that could identify threats for HYDRA]].

* Mark Gatiss' character in ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'', then subverted when viewers realize [[spoiler: he isn't so sinister.]]

* ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'': A morally gray example. [[spoiler:Mika Harima]], due to her stalker tendencies has been known to monitor people. However, it's taken UpToEleven when, in order to protect Seiji, she ''bugs almost every single cast member'' and fills Seiji's room to the brim with them. It's even canonically stated she knows more than even Izaya does about the happenings in Ikebukuro. Do not underestimate her. This girl is a stalker on ''steroids''.

* A magical example in ''Literature/WitchesAbroad''. Every mirror in Genua can be used by Lady Lilith to ensure that everyone is behaving according to FairyTale stereotypes. But she didn't stop there; she can "see" through every reflective surface. That window you passed? That puddle you stepped around? ''She can see you through those [[ParanoiaFuel too]]''. And in the [[UpToEleven reflection from the blade of your knife]], as you cut up the meat you're eating for dinner.

** ''VideoGame/WatchDogsLegion'' takes it UpToEleven as London doesn't even try to hide the lethal-force drones patrolling the streets. Nobody buys the "not a police state" propaganda filling the billboards, but they distract pedestrians from the constant security cameras. And bullet showers.

* The state-wide surveillance operations performed by the Stasi in East Germany between the 1950's and 1980's were nothing less than Orwellian in magnitude. To quote just a single paragraph in the Wikipedia article (among many, many similar ones) on the subject: "Full-time officers were posted to all major industrial plants (the extensiveness of any surveillance largely depended on how valuable a product was to the economy) and one tenant in every apartment building was designated as a watchdog reporting to an area representative of the Volkspolizei (Vopo). Spies reported every relative or friend who stayed the night at another's apartment. Tiny holes were drilled in apartment and hotel room walls through which Stasi agents filmed citizens with special video cameras. Schools, universities, and hospitals were extensively infiltrated."

* Used occasionally in WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries, which is often lampshaded by writer commentary. One episode in particular has the Joker show fellow villains a recording of a time he took over a late night television show - a video that includes camera shots backstage and all around the studio, in angles that shouldn't be possible. Another has Batman watch security videos of Mr. Freeze's origin, which for some reason includes close ups and camera cuts, as though someone not only used a film camera but edited it as well.