Good Spying Versus Bad Spying

A survey of 889 individuals by the Ponemon Institute found that a majority of people don’t mind being spied on in certain situations.

For example, 66 percent don’t mind when their customer service calls are recorded, and 57 percent don’t care if the boss keeps tabs on their e-mail and Web surfing at work. In addition, 57 percent think it’s OK for the police to use hidden cameras to monitor traffic.

However, 71 percent of those surveyed are against both government wiretapping of telephones and spyware that monitors their online browsing or shopping.

Respondents said their opinions about surveillance are most influenced by whether there is legal protection or recourse against abuses by the organizations conducting the surveillance.