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Pew Poll: Americans More Concerned About Invasion Of Privacy Than Terrorism
For the first time since 9/11, Americans are more concerned about the government invading their privacy than they are about terrorism.
That’s according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center, which conducted the survey in light of revelations earlier this year that the federal government is collecting information about Americans’ telephone calls and Internet usage. President Obama says the gathering of the data – which he said includes phone numbers and call durations but not conversations – is necessary to defeat terrorism. Edward Snowden, the former contractor with the National Security Agency (NSA) who leaked information about the program, says the government’s involvement is more involved than Obama and others are saying.
Pew found that self-identified Democrats, Republicans and Independents are concerned about the government’s reach. Asked what concerned them about the government’s anti-terrorism policies, 47 percent of adults say the government has “gone too far in restricting civil liberties,” while 35 percent say the policies have “not gone far enough” to protect the country. In 2010, Pew found the opposite: 58 percent saying the government had not gone far enough, 27 percent saying it had gone too far. The Snowden episode seems to have flipped Americans’ attitudes.
Source: http://www.offthegridnews.com/2013/07/31/pew-poll-americans-more-concerned-about-invasion-of-privacy-than-terrorism/
