Anticipating public acceptance of anti-terrorism technologies in urban spaces: Insights from Czech Republic, Greece, and Spain

• Survey of 1,501 citizens from the Czech Republic, Greece, and Spain on technology acceptance. • Threat perception and privacy concerns influence attitudes toward surveillance technologies. • 25% of respondents trusted the proposed technologies, while 50% found them effective but invasive. • Sociodemographic factors (age, gender, education, political views, and location) shape acceptance. • A validated model links acceptance to knowledge, effectiveness, intrusiveness, and institutional trust. This study surveyed citizens (n = 1.501) from the Czech Republic, Greece, and Spain to analyse public acceptance of new technologies for preventing terror attacks in urban areas. Our results reveal that threat perception and privacy concerns impact on pre-existing attitudes toward surveillance technologies. We found that 25 % of participants trusted the proposed technologies while 50 % saw them as effective but invasive. Results also reveal sociodemographic factors that significantly shape acceptance including age, gender, education, political views, and geographical location. Furthermore, the proposed model, which links acceptance to knowledge, perceived effectiveness, intrusiveness, and trust in institutions, was found reliable and valid.