pretty sure this exact technology (presented as some kind of sci-fi development) was showcased randomly in The dark Knight Rises movie, where Batman insists this is the only way they can catch the Joker, and Morgan Freeman's character calls it unethical.

if I was a tin foil hat conspiracist, I would say this out of left field technology in the movie was put there in order to get the audience used to the idea of this kind of mass surveillance being good.