Actually, Americans aren’t shrugging over NSA surveillance
Two new polls find that a majority of Americans disapprove of the NSA’s data-mining programs. The head of the NSA says he’s ready to provide evidence they’ve helped prevent terrorist attacks.
By Linda Feldmann, Staff writer / June 12, 2013
At first blush, it seemed, most Americans haven’t gotten too exercised about the revelation that the National Security Agency has been secretly tracking everyone’s phone data, in the name of protecting national security.
That was the take-away from a Washington Post/Pew Research Center poll released Tuesday. But two new polls out Wednesday – one by Gallup, another by YouGov taken for The Economist – paint a difference picture. Both find that a majority of Americans disapprove of the NSA data-mining programs.
In the Gallup poll, conducted June 10 and 11, 53 percent of Americans disapprove of the programs, while 37 percent approve. YouGov found that 59 percent disapprove of the programs, and only 35 percent approve.
