Polling

Does public polling reveal insights about the right as experienced in different countries?

Right	Breakout	Contents
Freedom of Association		The World Bank measures freedom of association across 156 countries using a scale ranging from 0 ( very low freedom of association) to 1(very high freedom of association). Looking at high income countries, with the exception of Israel, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Singapore, freedom of association is generally reported to be above the world median. Additionally, among wealthier countries, the World Bank data demonstrates that levels of freedom of association have remained generally fixed since 1975, when the data was first collected. In particular, the data reveals Burundi, China, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Vietnam, and Yemen to have very low levels of freedom of association (below 0.3). Countries with very high levels of freedom of association (above 0.8) were more numerous, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, Switzerland, Sweden, Sri Lanka, Spain, South Africa, Slovenia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Portugal, Peru, Papua New Guinea, Panama, Norway, New Zealand, Netherlands, Namibia, Mongolia, Mexico, Mauritius, Malawi, Liberia, Latvia, South Korea, Japan, Jamaica, Italy, Ireland, Honduras, Greece, Ghana, Estonia, Denmark, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Costa Rica, Canada, Benin, Belgium, Australia, and Albania. An Open Government Partnership (OGP) report reveals additional insights about freedom of association. The report surveys individuals within 78 OGP partnered countries about elements of freedom of association. Furthermore, the survey presents that approximately 25% of freedom of association issues within OGP countries are rooted in restrictive laws on foreign funding. Additionally, the survey demonstrates that OGP countries presenting challenges to freedom of association generally have not taken actions towards better protecting the right in the future. When asked to respond to “In practice, people can freely join any political organization they want”, the majority of OGP countries responded “Agree” or “Strongly Agree”. Though, when asked to reply to “In practice, people can freely join any (unforbidden) political organization they want”, a large number of OGP countries, approximately 20%, responded “Disagree” . This finding demonstrates that in reality, freedom of association may be less protected by countries’ governments than it is perceived to be. Within the International Labor Organization, the Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA) addresses violations of freedom of association. In their 2018 annual report, the CFA reported 402 freedom of association complaints from Africa, 410 from Asian and the Pacific, 657 from Europe, 1,681 from Latin America and 186 from North America. Furthermore, their data reveals decreases in complaints in Africa, Asia and the Pacfic, and North America and increases in complaints in Latin America in 2018. 100% of the freedom of association cases examined by the CFA were brought about by workers, rather than employers. 50% of these workers were from the private sector. Violations of trade union rights and civil liberties composed the majority of freedom of association cases investigated by the CFA.
Freedom of Expression		According to Pew Research, majorities in Australia, Turkey, the Philippines, Ukraine, South Africa and Nigeria report that it is important to have free press, an essential element of freedom of expression. Freedom of the press is considered very important by less than half of adults in South Korea, Japan, Israel, Indonesia, Russia, India, Tunisia and Lebanon, revealing these societies possibly place less of an emphasis on freedom of expression. Furthermore, Pew notes that despite the fact that freedom of the press has declined since 2015, support for freedom of the press has increased overall. This demonstrates that individuals value freedom of expression greater when it becomes limited. Additionally, according to Pew people with less education and people with populist views are less likely to assert freedom of the press to be important. Focusing on the United States, a Cato Institute study showed 58% of Americans felt that the current political climate keeps them from expressing themselves. Within this statistic, 53% of Democrats say they do not need to censor themselves in comparison to 27% of Republicans and 42% of Independents. This demonstrates that among Americans, Republicans particularly feel their right to free expression is limited by certain social and political norms, as they feel the need to restrict their speech. In regards to hate speech, despite the fact that 79% of Americans find it “morally unacceptable”, the Cato study reveals 59% of Americans believe it should be allowed in the public. Analyzing these numbers, the study claims, “the public appears to distinguish between allowing offensive speech and endorsing it.” Additionally, the study asserts that 66% of Americans believe colleges need to do more to teach Americans about the value of free speech, emphasizing that Americans highly value freedom of expression. Looking to college campuses, a 2017 Gallup poll found that 61% of college students strongly agreed that their campus climate prevents people from saying the things they believe. This was up seven percentage points from 2016, when Gallup previously surveyed students. A reversal from 2016, Democrats and Independents were more likely than Republican students to believe their college environment limited their ability to speak freely. Lastly, the study found that a smaller majority of students polled preferred a campus where all speech was allowed, demonstrating that students' value of free speech on campus has declined. An additional Pew study found that globally, a median of 62% of individuals say their country protects individual freedom of expression. Furthermore, the study found that individuals in countries with advanced economies were more likely to report that their country supported freedom of expression than individuals in countries with emerging economies. In Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Italy and Mexico, more than 50% of surveyed individuals stated they did not agree with the statement that their country supports freedom of expression. Specifically, Brazil reported very low numbers for freedom of expression, 39% saying their country does not support free expression at all. Within Europe, individuals in countries with favorable populist parties, such as Sweden, were additionally less likely to report that freedom of expression was protected by their government. References: Emily Ekins, The Cato Institute, "The State of Free Speech and Tolerance in America," October 31, 2017: https://www.cato.org/survey-reports/state-free-speech-tolerance-america Aidan Connaughton, Pew Research Center, "5 charts on views of press freedom around the world", May 1 2020: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/05/01/5-charts-on-views-of-press-freedom-around-the-world/ Jeffrey M. Jones, Gallup,"More U.S. College Students Say Campus Climate Deters Speech," March 12, 2018, https://news.gallup.com/poll/229085/college-students-say-campus-climate-deters-speech.aspx Richard Wike, Laura Silver, and Alexandra Castillo, Pew Research Center, "Publics satisfied with free speech, ability to improve living standards; many are critical of institutions, politicians," April 29, 2019, https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2019/04/29/publics-satisfied-with-free-speech-ability-to-improve-living-standards-many-are-critical-of-institutions-politicians/
Freedom of Religion		While the degree to which people are allowed to express themselves religiously varies in different countries, the importance that religion has in people’s lives also varies grately. Over half the people in countries such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, and Romania say that religion is very important in their lives. However, in countries like the Baltics, Scandinavia, and Western Europe, fewer than 1 in 5 people say that religion is important to them (How Religious Commitment Varies by Country Among People of all Ages). Many people have different ways in which they express themselves religiously. A survey done by the Pew Research Center found that in Europe, “about four-in-ten adults in the average country surveyed say that they attend religious services at least weekly.” They go on to say that “Buddhists and Hindus do not observe weekly holy days, and weekly communal worship services are not necessarily a part of their religious traditions” and that “countries in sub-Saharan Africa with predominantly Christian or Muslim populations tend to have the world’s highest levels of regular worship attendance; in the average country in that region, 79% of adults say they attend services weekly.” Daily prayer is one way that people express themselves religiously: “fully 96% of Afghans and 87% of Iranians report praying daily, reflecting a global pattern of high levels of prayer in Muslim-majority countries” (How Religious Commitment Varies by Country Among People of all Ages). This relates to freedom of religion because people are able to choose the way they want to express themselcces in this manner. For example, some people may choose to attend religious services, while others don’t practice religion in that manner. In a 2009 Gallup Survey, 65% of Americans said that religion was an important part of their daily lives. This is a significant contrast from other countries, with Spain being 49%, Canada at 42%, France at 30%, the United Kingdom at 27%, and Sweden at 17% (Religion in the United States). Among Americans, their choice to identify with religion varies greatly. 29% of Americans think that they’re a part of a minority group because of their religious beliefs and 70.6% of Americans affiliate with Christianity (Religion’s Role in Public Life). While some people may feel they’re a part of a minority group, the United States is less restrictive in regards to people’s ability to practice their religion than other countries. According to the Pew Research Center, “government restrictions on religion in the U.S. are nowhere near as extensive as those of countries such as China, Iran and Burma. Likewise, the U.S. has much lower levels of social hostilities to religion than countries like India, Pakistan and Nigeria” (Henne, 2015). One example of the religious restrictions in China is that “Christians are allowed to worship in ‘official churches’ registered with supervisory government agencies responsible for Protestantism and Catholicism” (10 Things to Know about China’s Policies on Religion). “3. How Religious Commitment Varies by Country among People of All Ages.” 2018. Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project. June 13, 2018. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2018/06/13/how-religious-commitment-varies-by-country-among-people-of-all-ages/. “Religion in the United States.” Pressbooks.howardcc.edu, April https://pressbooks.howardcc.edu/soci101/chapter/17-5-religion-in-the-united-states/. Center, Pew Research. 2024. “1. Religion’s Role in Public Life.” Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project. March 15, 2024. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2024/03/15/religions-role-in-public-life/. Henne, Peter. n.d. “How the U.S. Compares with the Rest of the World on Religious Restrictions.” Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/03/25/how-the-u-s-compares-with-the-rest-of-the-world-on-religious-restrictions/. Pew Research Center. 2023. “10 Things to Know about China’s Policies on Religion.” Pew Research Center. October 23, 2023. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/10/23/10-things-to-know-about-chinas-policies-on-religion/.
Privacy Rights		Worldwide A 2018 Deloitte survey has revealed that the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is having a positive international impact on the perception of data collection and storage even just six months after its implementation (Deloitte, 2018, 4). The GDPR has had a worldwide effect on privacy laws as it requires all companies which collect data on EU citizens to comply with the law, regardless of the location of their headquarters (Wolford, n.d.). At the most basic level, respondents felt companies have begun to care more about data protection (Deloitte, 2018, 6). Additionally, over 3 out of 4 respondents were aware of their rights under this law and some had already used this knowledge to alter what data companies were collecting about them (Deloitte, 2018, 13, 14, 19). On the other hand, 19% of those polled felt that organizations did not care about privacy (Deloitte, 2018, 6) and only 51% felt the law had put them in control of the personal data that companies have access to (Deloitte, 2018, 18). European Union In a 2019 European Union (including North Macedonia) study conducted a year after the implementation of the GDPR, the European Commission concurred with Deloitte in that the GDPR had made people more aware of their rights (Vandystadt & Voin, 2019) . However, only 20% of these respondents knew which authority was responsible for protecting privacy rights (Vandystadt & Voin, 2019; Awareness of the general data protection regulation, 2019) . United States In 2002, a Harris Poll found that 63% of respondents found the privacy legislation in place to be inadequate (EPIC, 2021) . In 2019, 75% of those surveyed felt the government should regulate companies and their use of personal data (Auxier, 2020) . In 2020, 79% of the population wanted national privacy legislation enacted (Auxier, 2020) . It is clear that over time, Americans have become more concerned about the use of their personal data, especially in the private sector (Auxier et al., 2019; Auxier, 2020) . Despite this fact, the United States has still not enacted sweeping privacy legislation at a national level. At the state level, California was the first state to enact privacy legislation in 2018, and at least nineteen other states have followed suit with the hope that it will signal the federal government to propose some sort of national privacy legislation for ease of compliance (Sabin, 2021) . However, Americans seem to be fine with either approach, with polls showing around 70% find their state government to be responsible for this issue and the same percent find the federal government to be responsible (Sabin, 2021) . New Zealand In 2012, the New Zealand Privacy Commissioner published a privacy study completed by UMR Research. This study found that 90% of people wanted the government to protect their data and be told by companies how their data was being used (Privacy Commissioner, 2012, 9). Interestingly, only 66% were concerned about the presence of their personal data online (Privacy Commissioner, 2012, 12). However, 88% of respondents wanted businesses to be punished if they were using data incorrectly, and 97% wanted the Privacy Commissioner to be able to reprimand companies if they were breaching the then enforceable 1993 Privacy Act (Privacy Commissioner, 2012, 23, 10). Since this study was published, the 1993 Privacy Act has been updated. Now, if an investigation reveals a breach of duty or misconduct, Article 96 of the Privacy Act 2020 requires the Commissioner to refer the matter to authorities, reflecting some of the public’s wants revealed in the 2012 poll. British Columbia In 2020, Canadian non-profit, Freedom of Information and Privacy Association or FIPA, worked with Ipsos and polled British Columbians surrounding their attitudes regarding privacy law. About half of them were unsure if the current laws were protective enough or admitted they thought current privacy laws were lacking (FIPA, 2020) . When asked about the transparency of Canadian companies, 50% felt companies were not open about their data practices and 75% felt that Canadian companies may send their data to non-Canadian companies (FIPA, 2020) . However, one-third of respondents from the same study knew British Columbian privacy law and its protections and three-quarters would like a public education initiative to teach these protections (FIPA, 2020) . References: Auxier, B. (2020, May 4). How Americans see digital privacy issues amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/05/04/how-americans-see-digital-privacy-issues-amid-the-covid-19-outbreak/ Auxier, B., Rainie, L., Anderson, M., Perrin, A., Kumar, M., & Turner, E. (2019, Nov. 15). Americans and privacy: Concerned, confused, and feeling lack of control over their personal information. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2019/11/15/americans-and-privacy-concerned-confused-and-feeling-lack-of-control-over-their-personal-information/ Awareness of the general data protection regulation – one year on. (2019). European Commission. https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/surveys/detail/2222 Deloitte. (2018). A new era for privacy: GDPR six months on. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/risk/deloitte-uk-risk-gdpr-six-months-on.pdf Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). (2021). Public opinion on privacy. https://epic.org/privacy/survey/ FIPA. (2020, June 4). British Columbians want action on privacy protection: Polling results. https://fipa.bc.ca/2020-privacy-poll/ Privacy Act 2020, 2020 No. 31, (2021). https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2020/0031/latest/LMS23223.html Privacy Commissioner. (2012, Apr.). UMR omnibus results. https://www.privacy.org.nz/assets/Files/Surveys/Privacy-Commission-UMR-Omni-Results-Apr-2012.pdf Sabin, S. (2021, Apr. 27). States are moving on privacy bills. Morning Consult. https://morningconsult.com/2021/04/27/state-privacy-congress-priority-poll/ Vandystadt, N., & Voin, M. (2019, July 24). GDPR shows results, but work needs to continue. European Commission. https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/api/deliverable/download/file?deliverableId=69715 Wolford, B. (n.d.). What is GDPR, the EU’s new data protection law? GDPR EU. Retrieved Sept. 9, 2021, from https://gdpr.eu/what-is-gdpr/
Voting Rights and Suffrage		Electoral Rights and Europe Being a part of the European Union, a citizen of a European country has electoral power in European, national, regional, and municipal levels, though that can bring confusion as to whether or not a European citizen can participate in all of the elections of a particular EU country. EU citizens can vote for European Parliament and municipal elections in any EU country that they live in, though they cannot vote in elections for national parliament nor in regional elections ('Flash Eurobarometer 485 - European Union Citizenship and Democracy', 2020, p. 3). According to the Flash Eurobarometer 485 of July 2020, 71% European citizens were aware that a citizen of the EU that lives in their country has the right to vote for European Parliament (p. 5). 53% correctly stated that it is false that EU citizens living in their country can vote for national elections. A similar fifty percent split was found with European citizen’s belief of whether other EU citizens not from their country could vote for municipal and regional elections (p. 5). This data implies that most Europeans recognize their own and others’ right to vote, and that their voting is done in conjunction with European voters from different countries and cultures. This creates an experience of voting that is decidedly international, both in the power that a European has with their vote and also the effects they feel from the votes of others. Voting power is much more expansive than just their own locality, and is instead affecting a much larger trans-national federation. Later in the report, it shows that 63% of Europeans believe that a citizen of the US is justified in having the right to vote in the national elections of the country that the foreign citizen resides in (p. 6). The countries with the highest number of citizens who thought it justified was Ireland with 77% and Portugal with 74%. The lowest was Denmark with 40% and Sweden with 35%. With the countries with more citizens that believe it is justified like Portugal and Ireland, the data implies that the right to vote should be expansive and farther reaching, with less importance placed on nationality and more on where someone lives. Moreover, the citizen’s desire for a wider net of participation implies an experience of voting that is too restricted, and far away from being universal. With countries on the lower end with citizens that believe it to not be justified like Denmark and Sweden, the data implies that their conception of the right to vote is one that should be kept close with the ethnic and cultural natives of the country. The electoral net is too wide, and there would be a greater benefit if voting access were to be restrained and more controlled. This is further supported by the report later on which states that 49% of Danes and 56% of Swedes (the highest percentage) believe that European citizens should only vote in their country of origin (p. 21). References: Flash Eurobarometer 485: EU Citizenship and Democracy: https://data.europa.eu/data/datasets/s2260_485_eng?locale=en