In his classic novel 1984, George Orwell warned about the evils of a totalitarian state dominated by a single ruling party with total power over its inhabitants. Oceania, his fictional superstate, is under complete surveillance by the authorities. The character known as “Big Brother” reminds everyone he is constantly monitoring the citizens of Oceania, mainly by “telescreen.”

At the end of 2013, the federal government may not yet have telescreens, which in Orwell’s imagination had the ability to eavesdrop on people’s conversations and broadcast propaganda, but it does have the nonfiction equivalent — data collection, drones and other technological invasions of privacy.