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Video Source: Allstate Foundation June 13, 2013 /3BL Media/Corporate Social Responsibily/ Privacy - Big Brother is watching and Americans know it. New figures from the quarterly Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor Poll show that most Americans exhibit a healthy amount of skepticism and resignation about data collection and surveillance, and show varying degrees of trust in institutions to responsibly use their personal information. Recent headlines focusing on government collection of telephone records within the United States may further stoke the underlying worries that the American public has about data privacy. Watch a live briefing on key findings from the latest Heartland Monitor Poll today at 8:30 a.m., ET at http://www.nationaljournal.com/events, featuring Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN),member of the Bipartisan Congressional Privacy Caucus; Jon Leibowitz, former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission; and other privacy experts. The 17th quarterly Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor Poll investigates American attitudes and opinions on the collection and use of their personal information by various groups and institutions and how big data affects their personal privacy. The poll asks Americans their impression of the likelihood that their personal information is available to the government, businesses, individuals, and other groups without their consent -- and to what extent people believe they can control how much personal information is shared. A full 85 percent of Americans believe their communications history, like phone calls, emails and Internet use, are accessible to the government, businesses, and others. Two in three (66 percent) feel that they have little or no control over the type of information that is collected and used by various groups and organizations. Fifty-nine percent, meanwhile, feel that they are unable to correct inaccurate personal information. The poll -- conducted days before the disclosure of top-secret government surveillance programs -- also finds that just 48 percent of Americans have some or a great deal of trust in the government when it comes to the use of their personal data. Similarly, cell phone and Internet service providers are trusted by just 48 percent of the public. Healthcare providers and employers were seen as the most trustworthy institutions with respect to responsible use of information, with 80 percent of all respondent and 79 percent of employed respondents saying they have some or a great deal of trust in them, respectively. The survey finds that Americans are also divided on possible steps to improve national security, with just 10 percent supporting expanded government monitoring of phone and email activities. Rather, the public is more likely to favor increased use of camera surveillance of public places, with 44 percent supporting the measure, followed by 16 percent of respondents in favor of increased censorship of websites and less freedom to access sources on the Internet. However, a full 42 percent of respondents said they oppose all three options. With respect to privacy in the future, nine in ten poll respondents said they feel that they have less privacy than previous generations and expect the next generation will be even worse off. Meanwhile, a clear majority (88 percent) favors a federal policy to require the deletion of online information and nearly four in ten (37 percent) report they have personally experienced fraudulent use of their personal information to make purchases without their consent. Importantly, a wide majority of Americans (79 percent) believe that IRS scrutiny of the political activities of certain groups is typical and has probably happened under previous administrations. When asked to weigh the relative benefits and drawbacks of personal data collection, Americans generally believe the practice has a mostly negative impact. More than half (55 percent) say the collection and use of information is mostly negati...