The anti-maskers are claiming the govt is taking away our freedoms

Well that's hardly in dispute, clearly forced masking is a reduction in freedom. Pro- and anti-maskers disagree as to whether this is justified by the health situation, and that generally boils down to whether or not you think mask work.

But I still don't get what that has got to do with the U.S. government's dubious mass surveillance, that's been going on since long before Covid came along ...

I just think it's ridiculous that these same people are usually the ones that DONT protest mass surveillance or airport security checks. Masks are a trivial thing, they should be just as passionate about mass surveillance.