It’s been five months since Edward Snowden first leaked NSA secrets, and there are signs those disclosures are undermining the public’s confidence in spy agencies. Recent polls by the Pew Research Center and Stanford University suggest that the more Americans learn about how surveillance is conducted, the less they support […] Read more »
Most Say Monitoring Allied Leaders’ Calls Is Unacceptable
In the wake of reports that the National Security Agency (NSA) has been listening to phone calls of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other heads of state, a 56% majority of Americans say it is unacceptable for the U.S. to monitor the phones of allied leaders, while 36% say the […] Read more »
The Information-Gathering Paradox
… The Internet industry, having nudged consumers to share heaps of information about themselves, has built a trove of personal data for government agencies to mine — erecting, perhaps unintentionally, what Alessandro Acquisti, a Carnegie Mellon University behavioral economist, calls “the de facto infrastructure of surveillance.” Nearly five months after […] Read more »
U.S. Internet Users Less Concerned About Gov’t Snooping
Despite revelations this year that the National Security Agency has been monitoring Americans’ activities online, U.S. Internet users are not as concerned about the government’s having access to suspects’ home computers or email accounts as they were in 2000 — during an earlier Internet age. CONT. Art Swift, Gallup Read more »
Your Digital Trail, And How It Can Be Used Against You
While the collection of private information by the National Security Agency is under scrutiny worldwide, a remarkable amount of your digital trail is also available to local law enforcement officers, IRS investigators, the FBI and private attorneys. And in some cases, it can be used against you. This week, NPR […] Read more »
Americans Oppose Raising the Debt Ceiling Even If U.S. Defaults
With the federal government expected to hit its debt limit in mid-October, 70 percent of Americans oppose raising the debt ceiling, the latest Reason-Rupe poll finds. In fact, 55 percent of Americans say they do not support raising the debt ceiling even if it causes the U.S. to default on […] Read more »