More Americans Oppose Edward Snowden's Actions Than Support Them

[ProSense]

25. Given the

"The young approve of him...It seems like what he did was 'the right thing to do' - as long as you don't have a lot of life experience."

...focus of the poll and the high percentage who responded "don't know" (47 percent among young people), I'd say a lot the respondents are holding judgment.

Polls consistently show that most people approve of the release of data related to domestic activities, and view it as a good thing, but they don't approve of Snowden's actions.

Pew poll: Public Split over Impact of NSA Leak, But Most Want Snowden Prosecuted
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023036390

CNN Poll: Majority give Snowden thumbs down

A CNN/ORC International survey released Monday morning indicates that 52% of the public disapproves of Edward Snowden's actions, with 44% saying they approve of the leaks by the former government contractor who worked for the National Security Agency.

<...>

"Younger Americans are less likely than older Americans to call for the U.S. government to prosecute Snowden," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "More than half of Americans over the age of 34 think Snowden should be extradited and prosecuted, but younger Americans are evenly divided. There are no major age differences on the question of whether Americans approve of Snowden's actions, so it seems that there is a generation gap on punishment, but not on the leaks themselves."

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/06/17/cnn-poll-majority-give-snowden-thumbs-down/

As you may know, details of the government collection of phone records and internet data were revealed when a former government contractor named Edward Snowden leaked classified information about those government programs to two newspapers. Do you approve or disapprove of Snowden's actions?

18 to 34

Approve: 45 percent
Disapprove: 52 percent


Do you think the U.S. government should or should not attempt to bring Snowden back to this country and prosecute him for leaking that information?

All

Should 54 percent
Should not 42 percent

18 to 34

Should 49 percent
Should not 48 percent

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2013/images/06/17/rel7a.pdf


January 2014:

There is little disagreement on the matter across party lines. Majorities of Democrats (59 percent), Republicans (56 percent) and a plurality of independents (48 percent) said Snowden should be charged.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/01/02/clemency-for-edward-snowden-the-public-is-skeptical