The FBI claims Apple’s resistance to its demands to hack the San Bernardino terrorist’s are part of a marketing brand strategy, but if it is, it’s not one that the American people support.
A new poll from the Pew Public Research Center has revealed that over half of the country opposes Apple’s position in its privacy battle against the FBI, while only 38% of Americans think Apple should not unlock the iPhone to ensure the security of its customer’s private data.
Apple’s battle has spilled out into the public stage in a big way, with some claiming it could be the most important tech issue in a decade. Of the 1000 respondents reached by phone over the weekend for the Pew Poll, 75% said they had heard a lot about the issue.
The study found that the reaction was practically equal in both parties with 56% of Republicans supporting the FBI’s position, while 55% of Democrats felt the same. Apple did slightly better among iPhone owners, with 47% saying it should comply with the FBI while 43% said it should not.
Independents who lean Democrat were the only group with a majority in favor of Apple not unlocking the iPhone. Apple has made a strong push to get out in front of the battle it faces with FBI. The company published a public letter last week explaining its position, then followed it up with a new Q&A section today explaining why creating a backdoor into iOS, even for this one terrorist’s phone, could compromise the security of all of Apple’s users.
Cult of Mac conducted its own poll when the news of Apple’s fight against the FBI first broke. Out of 1,658 votes, 73% said Apple should not create a backdoor into the San Bernardino terrorist’s iPhone 5c.
Should Apple unlock the San Bernardino terrorist's iPhone 5c? https://t.co/PTl19muwP5
— Cult of Mac (@cultofmac) February 17, 2016
