Research results

Spy on Me All You Like, More Americans Say

The most recent Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll found that Americans still feel as negatively towards the collection and use of their personal data as they did in 2013. A majority of respondents (53 percent) thought that the collection and use of their data by businesses, law enforcement, individuals, and other groups violated their personal privacy, safety, financial security, and individual liberties. Only 38 percent thought that the collection and use of their data was a positive development.

Danielle McMahan, 23, from Tampa, Florida, told me that while she acknowledges the potential usefulness of data collection, current surveillance tactics are flawed, and too hidden. “You don’t know exactly what’s being collected or when it’s being collected.”