Are HikVision cameras being used to surveil people on a level never before seen in this country? Serious question, I truly don't know..

It's all well and good to prove someone wrong, and it seems you've done this with only one of his arguments but only partially. It seems a safe argument that security ought to be default for something that gets placed anywhere and everywhere. He should never have been able to make that video due to the high quality of the security of the devices.