Encryption fight: American public backs Apple

Nearly half of Americans support Apple Inc's decision to oppose a federal court order demanding that it unlock a smartphone used by San Bernardino shooter Rizwan Farook, according to a national online Reuters/Ipsos poll.

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.