Today, the Annenberg School for Communication released a report entitled “Divided We Feel: Partisan Politics Drive Americans’ Emotions Regarding Surveillance of Low-Income Populations.” It is the first national survey that examines Americans’ emotional responses to surveillance practices that disproportionately affect low-income populations. In the US, low-income individuals and people of color are more likely than others to experience commonplace monitoring by government and business. Examples of these activities include police surveillance of people with “characteristics that are common among criminals,” using credit histories to make hiring decisions, government surveillance of grocery purchases made with food stamp (EBT) cards, and apartment owners using databases of prospective tenants’ past rental histories. CONT.
Annenberg School for Communication