Australians not happy about US surveillance, surprising no one
October 13, 2013
A new poll has shown that almost half of Australians oppose the US government’s mass internet and phone surveillance program, compared to less than a quarter who support it.
According to Crikey (apologies for the pay-wall), this puts America as a perceived internet threat ahead of China. The distrust comes from the documents that Edward Snowden leaked, which has left a further 45% of Australians distrustful of the justifications behind the surveillance, “that it is necessary for national security and the fight against terrorism,” over the 42% who support them.
The poll also showed a wide distrust of social media; apparently, “57% of Australians said they have no trust in Facebook to protect their privacy, and 55% said they have no trust in Twitter”.
This isn’t exactly surprising news, but is a relevant indicator that many foreigners share the general outrage over the government’s surveillance tactics.
