Napolitano: 'See Something, Say Something' campaign isn't Big Brother

The federal government's "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign to encourage citizen vigilance against terrorism threats doesn't amount to a Big Brother-style spying effort, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in an interview aired Sunday.

"It just sounds very Big Brother to me, turning in the next door neighbor." CNN's Candy Crowley said to Napolitano during an interview on "State of the Union."

"It's not," Napolitano insisted. "It depends on the common sense of the American people. I think they have common sense. And it depends on, again ... getting through this notion that our safety, our security and the world we live in today is a shared responsibility."

Crowley suggested that the type of activity that citizens are supposed to report is totally undefined, but Napolitano argued that -- with a reminder -- people can figure out for themselves what merits reporting. She also noted that the campaign started not with the federal government, but in the New York subway system after Sept. 11.

"All we have done is expand it. And the reason we have [the campaign] is because we want the citizenry of the United States to be alert, not alarmed, but alert -- alert to situations, alert to unattended packages at the

airport or unattended bags at a bus stop, alert to things that are highly unusual," Napolitano said.