Should governments be allowed to expand surveillance powers in the name of national security?

Context

Governments worldwide face pressure to expand surveillance capabilities—monitoring communications, financial transactions, and movements—citing national security threats from terrorism and organized crime. Civil liberties advocates counter that mass surveillance erodes privacy rights, enables government overreach, and disproportionately affects marginalized communities, arguing that targeted investigation works better than blanket monitoring. This tension between security and freedom has intensified as technology makes surveillance cheaper and more powerful, forcing democracies to decide where to draw the line.