Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Majority of Americans Say NSA Phone Tracking Is OK To Fight Terrorism

Posted by Unknown on from the don't-want-to-get-onto-a-list dept.

An anonymous reader writes "While the tech media has gone wild the past few days with the reports of the NSA tracking Verizon cell usage and creating the PRISM system to peer into our online lives, a new study by Pew Research suggests that most U.S. citizens think it's okay. 62 percent of Americans say losing some personal privacy is acceptable as long as its used to fight terrorism, and 56 percent are okay with the NSA tracking phone calls. Online tracking is fair less popular however, with only 45 percent approving of the practice. The data also shows that the youth are far more opposed to curtailing privacy to fight terror, which could mean trouble for politicians planning to continue these programs in the coming years."

3 of 584 comments (clear)

  1. Bull Shit! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's not true!

    1. Re:Bull Shit! by phantomfive · · Score: 4, Informative

      There's another poll that says only 26% favor the government’s secret collecting of these phone records for national security purposes regardless of whether there is any suspicion of wrongdoing. Also, 56% of Likely U.S. Voters now consider the federal government a threat to individual rights rather than a protector of those rights. That’s up 10 points from 46% in December. So your suspicion is right, if you ask different poll questions, you get different results. (warning: those pages auto-play video with sound).

      The question in the story asks, "Are you willing to give up some personal privacy," and that question is too broad. I am willing to give up some personal privacy if it saves lives, for example, I am more than happy to tell you the color of my carpet is red and my walls are white, and my carpet is blue. I am annoyed, but willing to have my bags searched at airports if it helps. So saying 'some privacy'.......well that doesn't tell you anything about the NSA listening to phone calls.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  2. Re:Well played, Slashdot by stanIyb · · Score: 4, Informative

    Click bait for the countless 14-yo libertarians who infest these boards.

    What about the 14-yo non-libertarians who whine that there are countless 14-yo libertarians on Slashdot?

    And who be just OUTRAGED, that somebody dared to point out that the government is the collective will of the people, and may actually have our interests and safety as their core mission

    Collective will or no, the government isn't supposed to violate the constitution; the majority do not and should not have absolute power, and neither should the government. Individual rights need to be protected, and I probably couldn't even be considered a libertarian.