A recent poll shows that a majority of U.S. voters support a full ban on TikTok, a popular video-sharing social media platform.
The poll, conducted by RMG Research, revealed that 54% of voters support a full ban on the social media app across the country. The poll revealed that 32% of voters said they either “strongly” or “somewhat” oppose such a ban, with 13% responding they weren’t sure what they thought about it.
The breakdown of support for a full TikTok ban varied greatly by age group. In the 65 and older age cohort, for instance, 69% of people support a ban, while only 38% of people between 35 and 44 years old support the ban.
In essence, the poll showed that support for a full TikTok ban was greatest among the oldest age cohorts, and lowest among the younger age cohorts — which are the ones most likely to use the app.
There have been a lot of discussions publicly about banning TikTok for a few years now. Initial concerns were raised under former President Donald Trump, who threatened to ban the social media app in the country if it didn’t sell its U.S. interests to an American-based company.
Those efforts were thwarted by a federal judge, who ruled that Trump didn’t possess the power to put such a ban in place.
That hasn’t stopped multiple states from imposing bans on the app on government-owned devices, nor the push by many politicians to pass restrictions on its usage in the U.S.
TikTok takes its marching orders from China. Ban TikTok. https://t.co/0IfFXlrsO0
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) December 22, 2023
The concern about the app revolves around the fact that it’s owned by ByteDance, a company based in China. Under local laws, the Chinese government can demand full details on all users on the TikTok platform.
There are also significant concerns about whether the Chinese government could have control over what content is fed or suggested to U.S. users on the app.
These concerns aren’t relegated to just the U.S., either. Lawmakers in North American and European countries have also expressed worry over China’s influence over TikTok and have moved to place bans on the app as a result.
