The United States’ mass surveillance of internet and mobile phone use flies in the face of global public opinion, according to a new poll published in mid-March by Amnesty International. The majority of U.S. citizens, 63%, are against their government’s surveillance
The release marks the launch of a worldwide UnfollowMe campaign, a global initiative calling on the leaders of the U.S. and UK – as well as their close allies – to ban indiscriminate mass surveillance and intelligence sharing.
The poll, which questioned 15,000 people in 13 countries across every continent, found that 71% of respondents are strongly opposed to the U.S. monitoring their internet use. Meanwhile, nearly two-thirds of the respondents said they wanted tech companies like Google, Microsoft and Yahoo to block governments accessing their data.
The majority of U.S. citizens (63%) are against their government’s surveillance scheme compared to only 20% in favor.
“International public opinion clearly supports the scale back of mass surveillance,” said Steven W. Hawkins, Executive Director of Amnesty International
USA.