In the UK they passed laws a few decades ago allowing people to be surveilled, called RIPA. It was marketed as something necessary to catch terrorists and major

In the UK they passed laws a few decades ago allowing people to be surveilled, called RIPA. It was marketed as something necessary to catch terrorists and major criminals, that would only be used for those purposes. Within a few years local councils were using it for highly trivial things like fly-tipping, littering, and checking people lived in school catchment areas. This kind of stuff always trickles down.