A majority of Americans think that the federal government should be allowed to spy on their Internet communications without a warrant, according to a new poll from The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Fifty-six percent of respondents said that they support the ability of the government to conduct surveillance on Internet communications without having to get a warrant, while just 28 percent oppose.
The results were similar among political parties, with 67 percent of Republicans saying they supported "surveillance of Americans' Internet activities to watch for suspicious activity that might be connected to terrorism," and 55 percent of Democrats saying that they also support such surveillance activities. Those not associated with a political party were less likely to support surveillance, 40 percent in favor to 35 percent opposed, according to AP.
Millennials were less likely to support warrantless snooping, with only about 33 percent of Americans under the age of 30 saying they supported such activities, while nearly 67 percent over 30 said that they support warrantless spying. Sex was also a factor, with men less likely to support surveillance.
Likely due to recent terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., about 60 percent of Americans now say that they are concerned about terrorism, up from 30 percent in 2013.
A majority of respondents said that safety concerns are more important than civil liberties at least some of the time. Further, 54 percent said that the government must sometimes sacrifice freedom to fight terrorism, while 45 percent said that it's not ever necessary.
The survey also asked respondents how well the government is doing at protecting freedoms. Independents ranked the government lower in every category, from freedom from unreasonable search and seizure to the right to vote, noted Reason.
The poll was conducted among 1,042 adults from Dec. 10-13 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
