Most Americans are OK with government monitoring Internet use if it will help defend against cyber threats.
A new survey released by Dtex, a company that analyses and tracks Internet user behavior, showed a majority of Americans don’t mind government and social media monitoring citizens online if it will protect against those attempting to obtain user data.
Despite calls from the public and lawmakers for more user privacy, 61 percent of Americans in the poll, conducted by The Harris Poll, say that they feel government organizations should be able to monitor citizens. Of the more than 2,000 people surveyed in mid-June, 51 percent said that social media companies should be able to conduct activity monitoring to provide defenses for users.
Social media users, and Congress, have increasingly voiced concern for data privacy online, especially after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where millions of Facebook users’ data was compromised through Facebook’s login capabilities.
Users also want Facebook and other social media and Internet companies to do more to combat outside interference and campaigns aimed at influencing U.S. elections.
Russia conducted a massive campaign to influence the outcome of the 2016 elections through creating fake accounts and groups that were meant to create division.
Oxford University’s Computational Propaganda Project compiled a study, set to be released this week, that shows what social media sites have not been looked into by Congress, like YouTube, Instagram, Google+, Tumblr, and Pinterest.
The study, which has not yet been endorsed by the Senate Intelligence Committee, also targeted Facebook, Google, and Twitter for the “belated and uncoordinated response” to the Russian disinformation campaign and said the tech giants should have picked up on the Russian strategy earlier.
