Vivek Ramaswamy is an American entrepreneur, author and Republican politician from Cincinnati, Ohio. He founded the biotech company Roivant Sciences in 2014 and co-founded the investment firm Strive Asset Management in 2022, ran in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, and is the Republican nominee for Ohio governor in 2026.
Case
Networked automated license-plate cameras can assemble searchable records of vehicle movements. Candidates and officials disagree over whether to ban the systems, keep them with limits, or defend them as investigative tools. This tracker separates outright bans from narrower restrictions.
Role at the time: Republican nominee for Ohio governor
Statement summary
Ramaswamy said he does not want an authoritarian surveillance state and warned that government mapping of every movement could eventually lead to one, while saying the country is not there now.
“I do not want to see an authoritarian surveillance state that ultimately threatens what this country was built on, which was our freedom on the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence. We remember that all men are created equal, endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, among these life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and if the government is able to, and does, map out every movement you make, we're ultimately living, eventually, it's not there now, but eventually, you skate to where the puck is going, it's not hard to imagine a Chinese-style surveillance state”
The reference point is whether networked license-plate reader systems such as Flock should exist and be used. Ramaswamy warns that government mapping of every movement could lead to a surveillance state, but says the country is not there now, and WKRC reports that he disagrees with a statewide ban while opposing use in private spaces. His concern is conditional and paired with rejection of a ban, so Mixed or conditional fits better than Condemned.
Statement dates: September 13, 2026
Statement dates: September 13, 2026
Statement dates: September 13, 2026
