American public divided over NSA’s internet monitoring as 45% say it’s ok
The American public is divided over the NSA's internet monitoring programme, as 45 per cent say the government should “monitor everyone’s email and other online activities if officials say this might prevent future terrorist attacks.”
However, 52 per cent have stated that the government should not be able to do this.
The study, conducted by Pew Research in partnership with The Washington Post following the PRISM revelations, also looked at opinions on the NSA’s tracking of telephone calls.
56 per cent stated that the NSA’s program of tracking the telephone records communications between millions of Americans and foreign nationals is an acceptable way for the government to investigate terrorism, though a substantial minority – 41 per cent – said it is unacceptable.
The research also found that one in four Americans, 27 per cent, are now following the news since it broke “very closely”, while 35 per cent say they are not following it at all.
1,004 adults were survey for the study between June 6-9.