Spies have been around forever, but, in this weeks’ Time Machine, we’re looking at the modern surveillance state…and what Americans have thought about it over the decades.
The formation of the NSA in 1952 marked the beginning of modern-day government surveillance and public opinion on privacy and security has slowly evolved ever since. Among the first poll questions asked about the topic, 63% of Americans supported federal wiretapping and 28% opposed it, in a 1974 Harris Poll. In 1982, an NBC News Poll took a different angle, finding 50% opposed reducing restrictions on FBI wiretapping, while 42% favored fewer restrictions.
A decade later as international terrorism began to worry Americans, an April 1995 Gallup/CNN/USA Today Poll found 58% of Americans saying that increasing surveillance to prevent terrorism was excessive, while 37% supported such measures. At the same time, widespread introduction of public surveillance cameras sparked debate, and, in March 1998, 53% of Americans felt cameras would reduce crime, though 34% felt they infringed on privacy, according to a CBS News Poll.
After 9/11, public support for surveillance took a sharp turn. In September 2001, the NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll found that 78% of Americans supported increased internet surveillance. Just a week later, 69% backed foreign surveillance in U.S. court cases, according to a TNS Intersearch/Washington Post Poll. By April 2002, a CBS News Poll reported that 77% approved of public video surveillance cameras.
The Patriot Act expanded government wiretapping capabilities. In July 2003, 55% of voters supported it and 27% opposed it, according to a Fox News Poll. Then again, a healthy minority didn’t actually know what it was! An April 2004 CBS/New York Times Poll found 30% of Americans said that they had heard nothing about it. When it came up for Congressional renewal in 2006, a Fox News Poll showed 57% supported renewal of the act, according to the poll, but 75% believed court orders should still be required for wiretapping, a Center for Survey Research Analysis found.
The Patriot Act also raised fears of profiling. In 2007, Pew Research reported that 45% of Americans felt Muslims were unfairly targeted for surveillance. Four years later that number remained nearly unchanged with 44% still feeling so in 2011. In 2013, Princeton Survey Research Associates International & Pew found that 70% of Americans opposed email surveillance, perhaps reflecting a renewed concern about privacy.
And that same year, Edward Snowden’s publication of problematic NSA surveillance activities resonated. Princeton Survey Research Associates International/Pew Research found that 55% of Americans felt the leaks harmed the public, while 34% believed they served the public interest. By 2015, 52% worried about government surveillance of personal communications, according to GFK Knowledge Networks/Pew Research.
The Patriot Act also raised fears of profiling. In 2007, Pew Research reported that 54% of Americans felt Muslims were unfairly targeted for surveillance, though this number dropped to 44% by 2011.
In 2013, Pew found that 70% of Americans opposed email surveillance, perhaps reflecting a renewed concern about privacy. And that same year, Edward Snowden’s publication of problematic NSA surveillance activities resonated. Pew Research found that 55% of Americans felt the leaks harmed the public, while 34% believed they served the public interest. By January 2015, 52% worried about government surveillance of personal communications, according to Pew.
As Artificial Intelligence rolled out in 2019, concerns about privacy expanded to the new technology. Ipsos/Pew reported that 70% of Americans felt their personal information was less secure than five years earlier. In November 2021, 16% expressed fear about AI’s impact on digital privacy, signaling the next challenge in addressing surveillance concerns.
Public opinion on surveillance has swung between acceptance and skepticism, driven by key events like 9/11, the Snowden leaks, and further advances in technology. The long-lasting debate reflects a tension between prioritizing national security and protecting individual privacy in an increasingly digital world.
This post was written by Marist Poll Media Team member Hunter Petro.