Kiwis back official snooping, to a point

Most New Zealanders don't mind Big Brother taking a closer look at our roads, motorways and credit cards, but are uneasy about the Government snooping on personal email, a survey has found.

The research, by Unisys Security Index, found 86 per cent of New Zealanders supported greater police surveillance of roads and motorways, and 69 per cent were in favour of banks increasing surveillance of credit card use.

"The research findings show New Zealanders' support towards increased surveillance varies significantly depending on the context - who is conducting surveillance of what activity and, we suspect, the perceived personal benefit of the activity," Unisys managing director Brett Hodgson said.

An additional question was asked to see whether people were in favour of increasing surveillance on a range of activities. These included:

*Employers increasing surveillance of a worker's internet use.

*The Government increasing surveillance of personal internet usage.

*Banks increasing surveillance of credit card use.

*Police increasing surveillance on roads and motorways.

The highest level of support for increased surveillance was on roads and motorways, with 86 per cent of the 532 respondents aged 18 years and over in favour.

This perhaps reflected a desire for even greater safety on roads, Mr Hodgson said.

High support was also recorded for increased bank surveillance of credit card use.

The survey results were backed up by figures which showed 55 per cent of people were concerned about other people obtaining their credit or debit card details, making it the top security concern overall for New Zealanders, Mr Hodgson said.

"Yet when it came to increasing government surveillance of personal internet use, only 39 per cent of those surveyed are in favour while 55 per cent are opposed."

Sixty-two per cent of those surveyed were in favour of employers increasing their surveillance of employees' internet use.

"This comparatively moderate level of support suggests that while people may not like the idea, they tolerate and understand the right of an employer to know how their equipment is being used," Mr Hodgson said.