A recent poll indicates that a significant majority of British adults believe they have a right to private online conversations and that their personal messages should not be accessible without a court order. The survey, commissioned by the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) and conducted by Public First in April, found that 93 percent of respondents affirmed their right to online privacy, with 89 percent stating that personal messages should require a court order for access.
The findings reveal a strong public distrust in the government's ability to handle access to encrypted communications. Two-thirds of those polled expressed a lack of trust in both the current and future governments with such powers. This sentiment spanned across political affiliations, with 58 percent of Labour voters, 59 percent of Conservatives, 56 percent of Liberal Democrats, 69 percent of Greens, and 75 percent of Reform voters sharing this distrust. The poll surveyed 2,000 British adults, with results weighted to represent the broader population and a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points.
The survey's release coincides with ongoing tensions between the UK government's desire for access to encrypted data and the tech industry's commitment to strong encryption. A notable incident involved Apple's withdrawal of Advanced Data Protection for UK users following a secret Technical Capability Notice (TCN) issued under the Investigatory Powers Act. While the US government later reported that Britain had retracted its demand for access to American users' encrypted data, subsequent reports suggested a new TCN targeting British users.
Despite the international controversy, 55 percent of respondents were unaware of the Apple notice. Even when informed, public support for secret government orders to access user information remained low, with only 12 percent backing such powers while prohibiting companies from disclosing the orders. A third of respondents believed the government should not possess this power at all, and 41 percent called for greater transparency or parliamentary oversight.
Furthermore, the public appears unwilling to compromise security for law enforcement purposes. 53 percent of those polled believed the security risks associated with accessing encrypted messages outweighed the benefits, compared to 28 percent who thought the benefits were paramount. Concerns included the potential for vulnerabilities that hackers and criminals could exploit (84 percent) and the risk of abuse of power (82 percent).
The prospect of surveillance also raised concerns about changes in behavior. 65 percent of respondents indicated they would become more cautious about what they liked, shared, or commented on, and 41 percent stated they would self-censor criticism of public institutions or government officials.
The CDT, a digital rights organization advocating for strong encryption, commissioned the research as part of its work. An independent analysis of the findings suggests that while the government continues its pursuit of access to encrypted communications, public opinion does not align with this objective.
