Exposed: Privacy, Power, and the Rise of AI Surveillance — Columbia Undergraduate Law Review

https://www.culawreview.org/roundtable-1/exposed-privacy-power-and-the-rise-of-ai-surveillance

Publish Date: 2026-05-30 17:35:00

Sure, here is a summarized list of the main points from each section:

Section I: When Privacy Law Fails: Government Intelligence Whistleblowers and the Espionage Act
- Highlights the case of Thomas Drake as an example of how whistleblower protection laws fail intelligence employees.
- Explains how federal law excludes intelligence employees from protections under whistleblower statutes but still subjects them to the Espionage Act, often leading to severe consequences.
- Discusses the need for reforming the Espionage Act to provide for a public interest defense and harmful intent requirement.
Section II: Advancing U.S. Surveillance as a Tool Against Visa Recipients
- Examines the Trump Administration’s program of screening social media usage of visa applicants and its implications for free speech and privacy.
- Points out the lack of Fourth Amendment protections for noncitizens, particularly through the plenary power doctrine and the Thuraissigiam decision.
- Highlights the vulnerability of noncitizens to viewpoint discrimination in the visa application process and the lack of legal recourse for those denied visas based on their ideological beliefs.
Section III: Your Privacy Abroad & International AI Regulation Efforts
- Compares AI policing regulations between the EU and Argentina, focusing on the different approaches to implementing AI in law enforcement.
- Advocates for the EU’s authorization-based framework which mirrors Fourth Amendment principles over Argentina’s surveillance-first approach.
- Discusses the implications of Argentina’s use of AI for crime prediction on individual privacy and overpolicing.
Section IV: The Threat of AI Generated Deepfakes and Barriers to its Regulation
- Describes the pervasive threat of deepfakes to personal dignity and democracy.
- Examines the challenges in regulating deepfakes due to First Amendment protections for speech.
- Analyzes the Take It Down Act and its limitations in addressing all forms of deepfakes and the mixed judicial outcomes regarding AI-generated content.
- Highlights the need for clear regulatory frameworks to handle the proliferation and harm caused by deepfakes without infringing on free speech.