President Obama delivered a speech earlier today announcing curbs he plans to implement on government surveillance activities. A survey conducted earlier this month (January 4-7, 2014) by Quinnipiac University showed that Americans tend to think that NSA collection of phone call records is excessively intrusive for Americans’ personal privacy. But the public is divided on whether the program is necessary to keep Americans safe. In contrast to 2012 Chicago Council Survey data that shows greater inclination among Republicans to support anti-terrorism efforts, this recent poll shows a partisan shift here—with more Democrats than Republicans saying the phone record program is necessary for US security. CONT.
Dina Smeltz & Craig Kafura, Chicago Council on Global Affairs