The American public is favoring the FBI in the bureau's dispute with Apple over whether the tech company should unlock an iPhone owned by one of the San Bernardino shooters.

Those who support Apple say the phone should remain locked in order to preserve the privacy of all other iPhone owners. They are planning to protest to show their support for the technology company.

Poll Shows Support for FBI

A new poll conducted by the Pew Research Center on Sunday found 51 percent of Americans say Apple should cooperate with the FBI and unlock the iPhone owned by Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the San Bernardino shooters.

Meanwhile, 38 percent of Americans believe Apple should stand its ground and leave the phone locked, while 11 percent of Americans are not sure what should be done in the situation.

A similar poll by USA Today found 51 percent of Americans take the FBI's side and believe the phone should be unlocked.

Democrats and Republicans Share Opinion

There is very little difference between Republicans and Democrats on the issue. The majority of both parties say Apple should help the FBI unlock the device.

"It's 56 percent of Republicans and 55 percent of Democrats," Carroll Doherty, Pew's director of public research, said.

Protests Planned

Demonstrators plan to protest on Tuesday in San Francisco, Los Angeles and at Apple's headquarters, as well as at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. They will hold signs that display messages like "FBI: Don't Break Our Phones" and "Secure Phones Save Lives," The Los Angeles Times reports.

Apple's CEO Tim Cook said in a letter to employees Monday that this dispute is about more than just one phone or one investigation. He argued agreeing to unlock the iPhone would expose the data of millions of law-abiding people in the future.

FBI Just Wants One iPhone Unlocked

The FBI disagrees. The bureau has stated it simply wants to access the suspect's iPhone and not the iPhones of everyone in the country.

The FBI says the iPhone owned by Farook could contain critical information they need in their investigation. To unlock the phone, they must type in the correct passcode in less than 10 tries. If they input the wrong code too many times, all of the phone's data will be erased.

"We simply want the chance, with a search warrant, to try to guess the terrorist's passcode without the phone essentially self-destructing and without it taking a decade to guess correctly. That's it," FBI Director James Comey said. "We don't want to break anyone's encryption or set a master key loose on the land."

Apple Fears Millions of Users' Data at Risk

Apple executives think the government is going too far and abusing their powers with this request. The company argues unlocking the device would set a legal precedent for further surveillance on the general public. Cook does not believe the FBI would only use an unlock solution to access this particular iPhone.

"Once created, the technique could be used over and over again, on any number of devices. In the physical world, it would be the equivalent of a master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks -- from restaurants and banks to stores and homes. No reasonable person would find that acceptable," Cook said.

Apple is standing its ground and refusing to unlock the iPhone, but will the company eventually give in?

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