Majority of Americans in favor of banning TikTok

Majority of Americans in favor of banning TikTok

New York, 7/11/2023

According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, about 59% of Americans consider TikTok a national security risk.

Only 17% of Americans believe TikTok isn’t a threat, and 23% aren’t sure. Perception varies based on political affiliation, age, and whether respondents are TikTok users.

For example, a majority of Republicans (70%) view TikTok as a threat to national security, compared to 53% of Democrats. Concerns about TikTok’s data usage practices are also widespread: 64% of Americans express at least some level of concern about how the company stores and shares data.

The study comes at the right time. Because in Montana, TikTok was banned. Additionally, Clemson University in South Carolina joined other schools in banning access to TikTok on its campus network.

The concerns revolve around the potential of Beijing-based TikTok parent company ByteDance to share user data with the Chinese government and manipulate algorithms for pro-Chinese propaganda.