But the surveillance was a crucial part of control and indoctrination. Surveillance of the home, never knowing whether or not someone was watching, led Winston Smith, and presumably other citizens, to change their thought patterns. He was literally afraid to have an unapproved thought lest it change detectably his behavior while he was being watched. This was very similar to Soviet-style control where you could never be sure your neighbor wasn’t spying on you.
One big difference, though, is that people in our society generally accept the set of forbidden things.