Poll shows nearly 50 of American adults want TikTok banned amid national security concerns
Nearly half of all American adults support a ban on the social media platform, TikTok, in the United States. This information comes courtesy of a survey by Reuters/Ipsos. The survey, which also delved into queries regarding national security apprehensions and China, disclosed that around 47 per cent of respondents expressed support for “banning the social media application, TikTok, from use in the United States,” while around 36 per cent were opposed to the idea of a ban. The remaining 17 per cent remained uncertain.
Of course, this isn’t the first time ByteDance, the Chinese tech giant that owns TikTok, has come under fire. The owners of TikTok have been called out in the past as well for potential influence by the Chinese government.
This nationwide online survey gathered responses from a total of 1,005 adults, including 443 Democrats and 346 Republicans. The survey’s precision, measured by its credibility interval, was estimated to be approximately 4 percentage points in either direction. Interestingly, a political split emerged from the survey, with 58 per cent of Republicans favouring a ban compared to 47 per cent of Democrats.
FBI Director Christopher Wray had mentioned the potential risks associated with TikTok back in March, suggesting that the Chinese government could potentially exploit the platform to manipulate software on millions of devices and spread their own agendas and narratives to create discord among Americans. Echoing these concerns, other high-ranking US intelligence officials, including CIA Director William Burns, also raised alarms about the app’s implications for national security.
In response, TikTok emphasized its positive impact, highlighting that more than 150 million Americans and 5 million US businesses actively use the platform to earn a living, engage in educational activities, and foster communities.
“We’ve taken unprecedented actions to safeguard protected U.S. user data, and we will continue working to build a safe, secure, and inclusive platform to ensure the positive experience of our users in every corner of the country,” a TikTok spokesperson stated.
Although attempts to confer expanded powers to the Biden administration for banning TikTok have encountered obstacles in Congress, the issue could potentially become a focal point in the 2024 US presidential campaign, particularly with some Republican candidates advocating for a TikTok ban.
Former President Donald Trump’s 2020 endeavour to prohibit TikTok downloads was met with legal challenges, preventing the ban from taking effect. Florida governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has expressed support for some form of a national ban on the app.
