SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A new survey which found that most Americans oppose NSA surveillance comes as some key sections of the Patriot Act near their expiration date. (Photo: mlliu/flickr/cc)
Majority of Americans Oppose NSA Spying: Poll
Survey commissioned by ACLU shows "how disconnected members of Congress are from the feelings of a lot of the public."
May 18, 2015
Most U.S. citizens across the political spectrum oppose the National Security Agency's (NSA) expansive surveillance powers and want the Patriot Act reformed, according to a new survey by the ACLU released Monday.
A bipartisan pair of polling firms surveyed 1,001 likely voters around the country and found that by nearly a 2:1 margin, Americans believe the Patriot Act should not be reauthorized in its current form. Another 60 percent said they would like to see it modified "to limit government surveillance."
The release of the survey (pdf) comes with only five days left in the legislative calendar before, absent congressional action, key provisions of the Patriot Act expire on June 1. Those include the controversial Section 215, which the NSA previously used to justify its widespread phone records collection program exposed in 2013 by whistleblower Edward Snowden.
"With broad, bipartisan support across all ages, ideologies and political parties, voters are rejecting the argument that the Patriot Act should be preserved with no changes because of potential terrorist threats," the survey found, referring to a familiar argument used by supporters of the bill.
Further, 82 percent of respondents said they were either somewhat, very, or extremely concerned that the government was "collecting and storing personal information like phone records, emails, bank statements, and other communication."
ACLU legislative counsel Neema Singh Giuliani said on a press call announcing the survey that its findings show "how disconnected members of Congress are from the feelings of a lot of the public."
"And it shows that the current legislative debate and the reforms being considered don't really go far enough to address many of the significant concerns that many individuals have," Giuliani added.
In a landmark decision earlier this month, a federal appeals court ruled that the NSA's phone surveillance program is illegal and "exceeds the scope of what Congress has authorized" under the Patriot Act.
That ruling helped push NSA reform to the top of the political agenda in Congress, but even that debate has left lawmakers at odds. The House of Representatives approved the USA Freedom Act last week as a measure to reform the Patriot Act and rein in some of the NSA's spying powers--but some privacy advocates warned that it does not go far enough to protect civil liberties because it includes a modified reauthorization of the Patriot Act.
"The fact that a lot of members of Congress are still pushing forward to try to reauthorize provisions of the law that many people find concerning is not reflective of the view of the vast majority of the public of both parties," Giuliani said on Monday. "What the poll results tell us is that in order to be more reflective of the public's views on surveillance and the Patriot Act, members of Congress should support ... more aggressive reforms."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Most U.S. citizens across the political spectrum oppose the National Security Agency's (NSA) expansive surveillance powers and want the Patriot Act reformed, according to a new survey by the ACLU released Monday.
A bipartisan pair of polling firms surveyed 1,001 likely voters around the country and found that by nearly a 2:1 margin, Americans believe the Patriot Act should not be reauthorized in its current form. Another 60 percent said they would like to see it modified "to limit government surveillance."
The release of the survey (pdf) comes with only five days left in the legislative calendar before, absent congressional action, key provisions of the Patriot Act expire on June 1. Those include the controversial Section 215, which the NSA previously used to justify its widespread phone records collection program exposed in 2013 by whistleblower Edward Snowden.
"With broad, bipartisan support across all ages, ideologies and political parties, voters are rejecting the argument that the Patriot Act should be preserved with no changes because of potential terrorist threats," the survey found, referring to a familiar argument used by supporters of the bill.
Further, 82 percent of respondents said they were either somewhat, very, or extremely concerned that the government was "collecting and storing personal information like phone records, emails, bank statements, and other communication."
ACLU legislative counsel Neema Singh Giuliani said on a press call announcing the survey that its findings show "how disconnected members of Congress are from the feelings of a lot of the public."
"And it shows that the current legislative debate and the reforms being considered don't really go far enough to address many of the significant concerns that many individuals have," Giuliani added.
In a landmark decision earlier this month, a federal appeals court ruled that the NSA's phone surveillance program is illegal and "exceeds the scope of what Congress has authorized" under the Patriot Act.
That ruling helped push NSA reform to the top of the political agenda in Congress, but even that debate has left lawmakers at odds. The House of Representatives approved the USA Freedom Act last week as a measure to reform the Patriot Act and rein in some of the NSA's spying powers--but some privacy advocates warned that it does not go far enough to protect civil liberties because it includes a modified reauthorization of the Patriot Act.
"The fact that a lot of members of Congress are still pushing forward to try to reauthorize provisions of the law that many people find concerning is not reflective of the view of the vast majority of the public of both parties," Giuliani said on Monday. "What the poll results tell us is that in order to be more reflective of the public's views on surveillance and the Patriot Act, members of Congress should support ... more aggressive reforms."
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Most U.S. citizens across the political spectrum oppose the National Security Agency's (NSA) expansive surveillance powers and want the Patriot Act reformed, according to a new survey by the ACLU released Monday.
A bipartisan pair of polling firms surveyed 1,001 likely voters around the country and found that by nearly a 2:1 margin, Americans believe the Patriot Act should not be reauthorized in its current form. Another 60 percent said they would like to see it modified "to limit government surveillance."
The release of the survey (pdf) comes with only five days left in the legislative calendar before, absent congressional action, key provisions of the Patriot Act expire on June 1. Those include the controversial Section 215, which the NSA previously used to justify its widespread phone records collection program exposed in 2013 by whistleblower Edward Snowden.
"With broad, bipartisan support across all ages, ideologies and political parties, voters are rejecting the argument that the Patriot Act should be preserved with no changes because of potential terrorist threats," the survey found, referring to a familiar argument used by supporters of the bill.
Further, 82 percent of respondents said they were either somewhat, very, or extremely concerned that the government was "collecting and storing personal information like phone records, emails, bank statements, and other communication."
ACLU legislative counsel Neema Singh Giuliani said on a press call announcing the survey that its findings show "how disconnected members of Congress are from the feelings of a lot of the public."
"And it shows that the current legislative debate and the reforms being considered don't really go far enough to address many of the significant concerns that many individuals have," Giuliani added.
In a landmark decision earlier this month, a federal appeals court ruled that the NSA's phone surveillance program is illegal and "exceeds the scope of what Congress has authorized" under the Patriot Act.
That ruling helped push NSA reform to the top of the political agenda in Congress, but even that debate has left lawmakers at odds. The House of Representatives approved the USA Freedom Act last week as a measure to reform the Patriot Act and rein in some of the NSA's spying powers--but some privacy advocates warned that it does not go far enough to protect civil liberties because it includes a modified reauthorization of the Patriot Act.
"The fact that a lot of members of Congress are still pushing forward to try to reauthorize provisions of the law that many people find concerning is not reflective of the view of the vast majority of the public of both parties," Giuliani said on Monday. "What the poll results tell us is that in order to be more reflective of the public's views on surveillance and the Patriot Act, members of Congress should support ... more aggressive reforms."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.