Americans’ privacy concerns rise after Snowden’s leaks
POST-ABC NEWS POLL | Most think surveillance efforts infringe on rights with little security benefit but want the ex-NSA contract worker charged with a crime.Poll: Privacy concerns rise after NSA leaks
Nearly three-quarters of Americans say the NSA programs are infringing on some Americans’ privacy rights, and about half see those programs as encroaching on their own privacy. Most of those who see the programs as compromising privacy say the intrusions are unjustified.
Graphic
Most think NSA is violating privacy rights but want Snowden charged with a crime
Some of the discomfort stems from doubts that the programs are making the United States safer. Only 42 percent say the programs make the country safer. More, 47 percent, see the programs as making little difference in the country’s security. And 5 percent say they actually make the nation less safe.
Details of the programs were revealed earlier this summer by a former government contract worker, Edward Snowden. The NSA has acknowledged that it collects the telephone records of millions of Americans — information on phone numbers they have dialed and the length of their calls — but has said it does not collect the contents of the conversations. The agency previously collected a vast trove of data on Americans’ e-mail but ended that program in 2011.
For the past month, Snowden has been holed up in the transit area of a Moscow airport. As he has awaited word on whether Russia might grant him asylum, sympathy for him has diminished. In the new poll, 53 percent say Snowden should be charged with a crime, up 10 percentage points in a month. About half of all Americans say Snowden’s leaks have hurt U.S. security, although barely more than two in 10 say they’ve had a big effect.
With Snowden’s prospects for asylum in Russia unclear, the White House has been vague about whether President Obama willvisit Moscow to meet with President Vladimir Putin in September.
In the poll, 56 percent say Obama should not cancel his trip if Russia were to grant asylum to Snowden. There have been a few suggestions that the United States should consider boycotting the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, but there’s minimal public support for such a step: 82 percent say the United States should not boycott next year’s Games.
Those who see Snowden’s disclosures as significantly harming U.S. security take a harder line on whether Obama should cancel his trip if Russia grants Snowden even temporary asylum. A majority of this group, 55 percent, say Obama should stay home. Among this group, 32 percent support for an Olympic boycott, but 66 percent remain opposed.
When it comes to allowing infringements on personal privacy to investigate terrorist threats, Americans now divide 57 percent for unfettered investigations and 39 percent on the side of sacrosanct privacy.
Politically, the biggest change on this question has been among self-identified independents. Independents now split about evenly between prioritizing investigating threats or protecting privacy, 50 to 45 percent. Democrats and Republicans both remain about 2 to 1 supportive of investigations, even at the risk of privacy intrusions.
Young adults, those ages 18 to 29, also now divide evenly on the question (49 to 48 percent), making them the only age group that doesn’t clearly prioritize investigations.
The general agreement among Republicans and Democrats on the trade-off between investigating terrorist threats and protecting personal privacy is notable in a time when there are often wide partisan divisions on most issues.
On most questions in the new survey, Republicans and Democrats respond in almost identical ways. For example, on the broad question of whether the NSA surveillance programs intrude on privacy rights, 70 percent of Democrats and 77 percent of Republicans say they do.
Democrats and Republicans are closely divided on the question of whether these programs make the country safer from terrorism. Just over half in both parties say Snowden’s leaks of classified materials have harmed U.S. security and say he should be charged with a crime for leaking classified material.
The poll was conducted July 18 to 21 among a random national sample of 1,002 adults. Results from the full poll have an error margin of 3.5 percentage points.
Cohen is polling director at Capital Insight, the independent polling group of Washington Post Media. Capital Insight pollsters Scott Clement and Kimberly N. Hines contributed to this report.
Graphic
Most think NSA is violating privacy rights but want Snowden charged with a crime
Most think NSA is violating privacy rights but want Snowden charged with a crime
A majority of Americans say the National Security Agency is improperly collecting telephone and Internet records without much benefit for national security. Still, an increasing number want criminal charges filed against the former government contractor who leaked details of the NSA programs. Read related article.
This Washington Post-ABC News poll was conducted by telephone July
18 to 21 among a random sample of 1,002 adults. Interviews were
conducted in English and Spanish on conventional and cellular phones.
The results have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5
percentage points. This survey was produced for The Washington Post by
Capital Insight, with sampling, data collection and tabulation by
Abt-SRBI of New York. The Washington Post - ABC News poll.
More from PostPolitics
Weiner acknowledges more explicit texts
New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner acknowledged engaging in explicit online exchanges after resigning from Congress.
Poll: Obamacare support drops among moderate Democrats
Democratic support softens as Obama administration prepares insurance exchange roll out.
The House will not pass the Senate immigration bill. Here's why.
The American people quite simply aren't applying much pressure.
copy http://www.washingtonpost.com/
copy http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário