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Wednesday, June 12, 2013

53% Of Americans Disapprove of Government Surveillance Programs

By Susan Duclos



Comparisons of a Pew Research poll conducted from June 6 to June 9, with a more recent Gallup poll conducted from June 10- June 11th, shows that the more information being revealed about the extent of the spying on Americans by the Obama administration, the more Americans are coming out as disapproving of the NSA surveillance programs.

The Pew Research survey occurred within days of the first revelations, showing that the Obama administration had obtained a secret court order to collect phone data on all Verizon's more than a million customers, for a three month period and found that 56 percent said the National Security Agency’s (NSA) program tracking the telephone records of millions of Americans was an acceptable way for the government to investigate terrorism, with 41 percent calling it unacceptable.

Then came reports of the Prism program where information was being secretly collected on Americans, from at least nine Internet companies,  including Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, AOL, Skype, YouTube and Apple, on an ongoing daily basis, in what Obama referred to as a "modest encroachments on privacy."

Gallup polled Americans after the news started trickling out, and newly revealed programs showed the extent of the spying on Americans by the Obama administration, and by June 10-11th, 2013, those numbers have flipped with 53 percent now disapproving of the federal government agency program that as part of its efforts to investigate terrorism obtained records from U.S. telephone and Internet companies to "compile telephone call logs and Internet communications," and only 37 percent approving.

A June 9-10 CBS News poll also found a majority, 58 percent of Americans, disapproving of the government "collecting phone records of ordinary Americans."

Considering it has only been a little over a week since the NSA scandal broke and more revelations continue being revealed, there is a good chance the numbers will continue to turn further against the Obama administration in the coming months, as investigations expose more and more of Obama's secrets.

Full Wake up America NSA scandal coverage found here.