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 Forty-six percent of respondents said they agreed with Apple's
position, 35 percent said they disagreed and 20 percent said they
did not know, according to poll results released on Wednesday.
Other questions in the poll showed that a majority of Americans do
not want the government to have access to their phone and Internet
communications, even if it is done in the name of stopping terror
attacks.
The responses to the privacy questions in the poll are similar to
results from a 2013 Reuters/Ipsos poll, showing a consistent desire
on the part of Americans to keep their phone, Internet
communications and other data private.
Most of those polled also feel that unlocking Farook's phone would
set a dangerous precedent that authorities would use to force the
company to unlock more phones, a claim that Apple Chief Executive
Tim Cook made in an open letter to customers last week.
When asked if the government would use the ability to unlock phones
to "spy on iPhone users," 55 percent said they agreed, 28 percent
disagreed and the rest said they were not sure.
“I don’t believe in giving up our right to privacy in order to make
people feel safer,” said Steve Clevenger, a 55-year-old real-estate
appraiser from Wheelersburg, Ohio, who took part in the poll and is
supporting Apple.
 “The government overstepped its bounds with the Patriot Act and they
are likely to do it again,” he said, referring to a 2001 law that
eased federal investigators' access to people's communications and
financial records.
When asked if the U.S. government should be able to look at data on
Americans' phones to protect against terror threats, 46 percent
agreed, 42 percent disagreed and the rest said they were not sure.
The government has said Apple must help because there is no way to
get at the data on Farook's phone without the company engineering a
special software solution. Apple executives have refused, saying it
is an onerous request that puts the security of its customers at
risk.
Mike Kostrzewa, a 69-year-old retiree from Fairfax, Virginia, said
he believed Apple should comply with the court order. “If a person
has nothing to hide, there is no reason they should be afraid of the
government looking at specific content with a warrant,” said
Kostrzewa, one of the poll's respondents.
Younger Americans are more likely than older Americans to agree with
Apple's stand. Of those between 18 and 39 years old, 64 percent
agreed with the company's decision to oppose the court order. That
is nearly twice the percentage of older people who are supporting
Apple.
The poll results reflect a deep sense of skepticism among Americans
about the security of their information, said Ipsos pollster Chris
Jackson.
Privacy concerns have grown in response to revelations about U.S.
government surveillance programs as well as a constant stream of
high-profile security breaches that compromised consumer records
including credit cards numbers, email logins and medical
information, he said.
"People are very distrusting of everybody, but Americans actually
trust Apple a bit more than the government on some issues," Jackson
said.
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The Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that large numbers of Americans want to
keep their phone records, text messages, emails and other Internet
activity private.
For example in this month's poll, 69 percent said they would not
give up email privacy even if it would help the government foil
foreign terror plots and 75 percent said they would be unwilling to
give up text-message privacy for the same reason.
Opinion on whether Apple is right is divided by political party
lines: 54 percent of Democrats agree with Apple, while only 37
percent of Republicans support the company.
Donald Trump, front-runner for the Republican presidential
nomination, last week said he would boycott the company's products
until it unlocks the phone.
Democratic U.S. Representative Ted Lieu on Tuesday asked the Federal
Bureau of Investigation to rescind the unlock order.
"There is this tension: Americans want terrorists to be prosecuted,
but in the context of issues about security and privacy, it becomes
a much more nuanced discussion," Jackson said.
On Monday, Pew Research Center said its polling found that 51
percent of Americans believe Apple should unlock the phone and just
38 percent support the company's refusal.
The Pew question provided less information about Apple’s concerns
and mentioned that the FBI’s need is “an important part” of their
investigation. (pewrsr.ch/1RiI8dB)
The Reuters/Ipsos poll question on the same issue stated the
company's position, which is that complying with the request would
set a precedent that would require it to provide similar assistance
in future cases.
The online survey was conducted Feb. 19 to 23 with more than 1,500
U.S. adults, as Apple and the government made public statements to
sway public opinion in the high-stakes case. It has a credibility
interval of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points for all respondents.
FBI spokesman Christopher Allen declined comment on the poll
results. Apple did not respond to requests for comment.
Here's the link to the poll:
LINK
Take a look at these graphics
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/doc/applefbi.pdf:
http://tmsnrt.rs/1Qwy8KP
(Reporting by Jim Finkle; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Bill Rigby)
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