However, though some respondents told the Pew Research Center that they generally supported the concept of sacrificing some civil liberties in order to try to curb terrorism, most of those surveyed balked at increased government monitoring of personal telephone calls or e-mails.
The study found that 70 percent of Americans oppose giving away the right to private communications via phone or e-mail; 26 percent said they were in favor of the idea; and 4 percent said they didnt know one way or the other. The Pew Research center surveyed 1,200 U.S. adults from Sept. 13-17.
Elizabeth Gross, special projects director of the Pew Research Center, said that compared to previous polls from the past decade, the latest study shows a few more Americans are willing to allow the government to eavesdrop. As an example, Gross cited a 1994 Gallup poll that found that 79 percent of Americans felt all telephone conversations should be kept private.
"Even though the question was phrased differently, the drop from 79 percent in that poll to 70 percent in our poll is enough of a change to be meaningful," she said.
In 1997, only 29 percent of respondents told Pew Research that civil liberties should be sacrificed to curb terrorism, with 62 percent opposed. In the most recent study, those numbers shifted to 55 percent yes, 35 percent no.
"That is a huge leap," said Gross. "But, remember, when asked specifically about things like monitoring e-mail, people were less willing."
A 1995 Pew study found that 44 percent of people were concerned the U.S. government would enact laws to stop terrorists that would "excessively restrict" civil liberties. In this weeks study, only 34 percent said they were concerned about this.
"Again, you see a 10 percent drop," Gross said.
Respondents were somewhat less opposed to increased monitoring of credit cards as a way of reducing terrorism, the study said. Forty percent were in favor, 55 percent against and 5 percent did not know.
The Pew study also examined how people are getting their news about the terrorist attacks. Ninety percent of Americans said television was their primary source of information, with radio, newspapers and the Internet trailing far behind. Gross said this disparity is not surprising, and she expects it to change in the days and weeks to come.
"TV is swamping everything else because it is such a visual story," she said. "Everyone tuned in during the first few days to see the footage of planes crashing and buildings burning. People could not turn away from the TV. As the story plays out, and a military response makes things more complicated, you might see people turning to the Web. For those inclined to turning to the Web for news, the transition started this week."
The study found that one-third of all Americans, and half of Internet users, go online for news updates about the attacks and possible retaliation.
Michael Bartlett, Newsbytes
