The new poll, conducted by Harris Interactive, said that immediately after September 11th, supporters of government surveillance of e-mail and cell phone conversations were in the majority at 54 percent.

But the research firm found that group is now in the minority, with just 44 percent of respondents supporting monitoring.

Fifty-five percent of respondents favored government monitoring of Internet chat rooms and other forums, compared with 63 percent in September.

Also, 9 percent fewer respondents favored closer monitoring of banking and credit card transactions to trace funding sources.

Results Event-Driven

Privacy Foundation executive director Stephen Keating told NewsFactor that he is not surprised by the results. He noted that a similar change in U.S. sentiment occurred after the Oklahoma bombing in 1995.

"I think those polls are driven by events and a psychological state of mind, rather than real knowledge of whether we're any less or more secure. We haven't had significant domestic terrorism since September 11th, so people are feeling less vulnerable," Keating said.

Government Confidence Declines

The greatest change was apparent in interviewees' distinct lack of confidence that government will use its expanded electronic monitoring capabilities in a proper fashion.

Fourteen percent fewer respondents than in September said they are "very confident" or "somewhat confident" that the government will not abuse its monitoring capabilities.

In response to this decline in trust, Keating noted that it is difficult for the American public to discern how effective the government has been in fighting domestic terrorism.

"It's hard for people to evaluate if, say, the Patriot Act has had some effect. We haven't seen evidence, or we haven't been told, that [the government] has prevented new acts of terrorism," he said.

Other Security Measures Drop

The Harris poll also found that support for face recognition technologies that can scan audiences at public events for suspected terrorists has dropped by 5 percent since September, to 81 percent. A similar decline has occurred for support of expanded camera surveillance of public streets and other public places.

Support for adoption of a national identification system for all U.S. citizens dropped by 9 percent since September, to 59 percent.

Harris Interactive polled 1,017 people over the telephone between March 13th and March 19th, with accuracy of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Americans at Odds

Martin Yeung, a policy analyst at the Center for Democracy and Technology, told NewsFactor he believes that while the United States is not in fear for its immediate security , the nation remains uncertain of how to maneuver through a changing security climate.

"I think the American people are trying to grapple with the situation, with the new realities. We're trying to balance security concerns versus the right to privacy and civil liberties," Yeung said.

Fear Not

Harris developed the poll with Dr. Alan Westin, a privacy issue analyst, who noted that the poll's results indicate Americans are less fearful for their safety than they were in September.

"The high-anxiety, very high approval rates for expanded law enforcement powers expressed in late September 2001 have moved, six months later, to a still high but somewhat more cautious level, reflecting American concerns that liberty and due process intrusions be kept to the necessary minimum," Westin said.

Marc Rotenberg, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), told news sources that he believes there has been an increase in discussion about civil liberties since September 11th. He also noted that the poll results are more conservative than those obtained by similar surveys.

EPIC, which has fought hard against a national identification system, has filed suit against the Office of Homeland Security seeking the expedited release of documents regarding development of such a system.

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