Although less advanced than what one might find in China, such surveillance programs are already here. Furthermore, they are growing ever more intrusive while our courts have yet to provide meaningful guidance on their constitutionality.

Such were the sentiments expressed in a December telephone interview by Michael Soyfer, an attorney with the Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm that describes itself as seeking to challenge abuses of government power and protect the constitutional rights of Americans.

"I don't think courts have grappled with the coming age of mass technological tracking," Soyfer stated.