Remember how the left used to claim that President Donald Trump was a dictator?

Well, make way for the real dictator, Joe Biden.

We’ve seen a lot of troubling authoritarian moves so far from Joe Biden, the guy who ran on protecting norms.

He’s been doing everything he can to blow up norms ever since he got in, from bills to control elections to consideration of court-packing.

But now, Biden’s looking to beef up the surveillance state against Americans, unimpeded by the rules or concerns for the rights of Americans.

The Biden regime would like to surveil “extremist chatter” by Americans online, CNN reports, but it’s limited by what federal agents are allowed to do because of those pesky regulations and rights they’re supposed to care about. So Biden is considering using outside firms to monitor American citizens.

The Department of Homeland Security is limited in how it can monitor citizens online without justification and is banned from activities like assuming false identities to gain access to private messaging apps used by extremist groups such as the Proud Boys or Oath Keepers.

Instead, federal authorities can only browse through unprotected information on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook and other open online platforms.

The plan being discussed inside DHS, according to multiple sources, would, in effect, allow the department to circumvent those limits. A source familiar with the effort said it is not about decrypting data but rather using outside entities who can legally access these private groups to gather large amounts of information that could help DHS identify key narratives as they emerge.

By partnering with research firms who have more visibility in this space, the DHS could produce information that would likely be beneficial to both it and the FBI, which can’t monitor US citizens in this way without first getting a warrant or having the pretext of an ongoing investigation. The CIA and NSA are also limited on collecting intelligence domestically.

If they got away with surveilling the Trump campaign, what makes any other American think he/she would be safe under such an environment? This very move, to get around protections, is a warning of problematic actions to come. But here’s a tip for Joe: If it’s at the direction of the government, if the action is unconstitutional, you may not avoid that violation by farming the illegality out to a third party. The fact that they want to get around protections is extremely troubling, with Biden sounding closer and closer to China.

I’m also curious as to what they would term “extremist” under this rubric? I mean besides political opponents, of course. CNN lists groups on the right in its article. But what about the folks who have been violent and dangerous for months, the Antifa and BLM crazies? Are they extremists? I’m not sure that this present regime has even figured out that Antifa exists yet.

Chalk up another move on the very dangerous path this regime is taking.

HT: Twitchy