How have Americans reacted to the TikTok ban?
The ban on TikTok in the US has become a highly controversial topic. Do Americans truly support banning the app?
A recent survey from the Pew Research Center (USA) has revealed a significant shift in American public opinion regarding a TikTok ban. Unlike the results of a survey conducted 18 months earlier, support for banning the app has noticeably decreased among both Democrats and Republicans.
This comes as the US government sets a deadline for TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to sell or cease offering the app in the US market by January 19th. The shift in public opinion may be due to several factors, including national security controversies and TikTok's media campaigns.
A Pew Research Center survey paints a clear picture of the shifting public opinion in the US regarding a TikTok ban. The 32% of adults who supported the ban in the recent survey is a significant drop from 50% in March 2023 and 38% last fall. This continued decline suggests that Americans are becoming increasingly cautious about banning such a popular social media platform.
Although the US government has set a specific deadline for banning TikTok, half of Americans are skeptical about its feasibility. They believe that banning TikTok is "very difficult" or even "uncertain."
The survey shows that public opinion in the world's number one economy has shifted significantly over the past 18 months, even five months after President Joe Biden signed legislation requiring parent company ByteDance to divest 100% of its subsidiary TikTok or face a ban in the country.
U.S. lawmakers have expressed deep concern that TikTok, an app owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, could collect and transfer American users' data back to the United States. They fear that sensitive personal information such as browsing history, location, and even biometric data could be exploited for commercial or intelligence purposes, posing a serious threat to national security.
Although the survey revealed a significant shift in American public opinion regarding a TikTok ban, it didn't delve into the reasons behind these changes. The lack of data on motivations makes it difficult to draw precise conclusions about which factors influenced this shift.
Not only American citizens, but also former President Donald Trump, who was once the harshest critic of TikTok, made a surprising turnaround by opening an account on the platform earlier this year, a complete reversal of his decision to ban TikTok while he was in office in 2020.
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris, a candidate running for the 2024 US presidency, has also used the app to campaign. President Joe Biden, despite directly signing the law, also has an account on the platform.
Pew research has highlighted the deep divide in views on TikTok based on political differences. The results show that Republican voters and independent voters leaning Republican tend to rate the national security risks posed by TikTok higher and are twice as likely to support a ban compared to Democrats.
Nevertheless, a notable finding is the nearly 20% drop in support for the ban within each party since March 2023, suggesting that the issue is becoming increasingly complex and multifaceted.
According to the law signed by President Joe Biden, ByteDance must sell the TikTok app or it will be banned from operating in the United States. The initial deadline was set for next January, but it could be extended by another 90 days if the divestment process is underway.
The Pew Research Center survey was based on 10,658 American adults, conducted from July 15 to August 4. According to the organization, the results have a margin of error of plus or minus 1.2%.