More than 40 percent of Americans support banning TikTok: poll

Julia Mueller
·2 min read
6

Forty-one percent of Americans in a new poll say they support the federal government banning the video-sharing app TikTok as the platform comes under congressional scrutiny over user safety and data security concerns.

A new Washington Post poll found just 25 percent of Americans say they oppose a potential TikTok ban, while 34 percent say they’re unsure.

People who have used TikTok in the last month and daily TikTok users were less likely to support a ban, at 21 percent and 17 percent, respectively.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents (71 percent) said they’re concerned that TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is based in China, a fact that’s spurred U.S. lawmakers to scrutinize the popular app over concerns that the government in Beijing could gain access to American user data.

That group includes 36 percent who said they’re “very” concerned and 35 percent who said they’re “somewhat” concerned. Nine percent report being “not at all” concerned, and 20 percent say they’re “not too” concerned, according to the poll.

The poll also found 65 percent of Americans think it’s likely TikTok is “collecting personal data on Americans for the Chinese government.” Fifty-six percent think it’s likely the app is “letting the Chinese government control content U.S. users see on TikTok.”

The app has been banned from government phones due to the security concerns, and Congress has been talking about a potential federal ban.

Republicans have criticized the Biden administration for not taking action on the perceived threats. Last week, the Biden administration said it would ban TikTok in the U.S. if ByteDance does not sell its stake to an American company.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans surveyed think it’s likely TikTok is allowing the spread of false information (73 percent) and causing harm to teens’ mental health (72 percent).

TikTok CEO Shou Chew is set to appear before Congress on Thursday amid the intensifying scrutiny.

Taken March 17-18, the Washington Post poll surveyed 1,027 U.S. adults and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

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