Internet snooping is justified: poll

NEARLY 60% of people in France believe internet surveillance by security agencies is justified even if it harms personal freedom, according to a survey.

In total, 57% of respondents to the survey thought that internet surveillance was “justified”, while 41% felt it was unwarranted and that it “seriously threatens individual liberty”.

It is “an effective weapon in the fight against crime”, according to 59% of people, even if 70% of people think that it “seriously endangers individual freedom.”

A recent vote on military planning laws has sparked controversy, particularly the strengthening of intelligence services’ access to telephone and online data, to combat terrorism and organised crime.

But 52% of the 1,017 people who responded to the Orange-Terrafemina survey said that they were confident “strong political will can protect the confidentiality of private communications over the Internet”.

However, at present, European laws concerning the privacy of internet exchanges are "not tight enough" for 81% of respondents.

More mundanely, 81% of French people think their online shopping habits are "generally transmitted to private business enterprises other than that in which they have made a purchase” - and 57% think they are sent to "watchdogs " - such as America’s NSA or the French DGSE.

Meanwhile, 80% of respondents believe that their emails are "saved and stored” by outside agencies, 74% think the same thing with regard to SMS messages - and 64% think their phone calls are recorded.

Photo:Lindy Buckley