About half of the adults in the United States favour banning TikTok, the social media app owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance. This information comes from a recent survey conducted by Reuters/Ipsos. The survey also asked people about worries related to national security and China.
Many millions of Americans use TikTok, but some U.S. lawmakers have raised concerns about the app being owned by a Chinese company. They worry that the Chinese government might have some influence over the app, and this has led to discussions about possibly banning TikTok across the country.
About 47% of the people who answered a two-day survey that ended on Tuesday said they somewhat agreed with stopping the use of the social media app TikTok in the United States. On the other hand, 36% were against banning it, and 17% were unsure. When looking at the political parties, 58% of Republicans favoured banning TikTok, while 47% of Democrats felt the same way, according to the poll results.
National Security Concerns Surrounding TikTok and China’s Influence
The survey also found that many Americans are worried about how much influence China has on the world. This concern comes when the relationship between the United States and China isn’t perfect. It’s at one of its lowest points in a long time.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was done nationwide, and they talked to 1,005 grown-ups. These grown-ups were made up of 443 Democrats and 346 Republicans. The poll’s accuracy was estimated at 4 percentage points, meaning the actual numbers could be slightly higher or lower.
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Back in March, Christopher Wray, the head of the FBI, said something about TikTok. He thinks China’s government might use TikTok to control software on many devices. He also says they could use it to make up stories that split up Americans and make them disagree. He’s worried about this because it could harm the country’s safety. He even said that the app “shouts out” these worries about national security.
Additional high-ranking officials from U.S. intelligence, like CIA Director William Burns, have also expressed concerns about the potential dangers of TikTok. TikTok responded by stating that over 150 million Americans and 5 million U.S. businesses use the platform actively. They use TikTok to make money, participate in educational activities, and connect with the community.
TikTok’s Data Security and Political Landscape in the United States
One of the TikTok spokespeople said, “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.”
Efforts to grant the Biden administration additional authority to prohibit TikTok could potentially hit a roadblock in Congress. Lawmakers in the United States mentioned last month that they were thinking about changing a proposed law to address related concerns.
However, this matter might become an essential topic for the Republican Party in the upcoming 2024 U.S. presidential campaign. Some of the candidates from the Republican Party have expressed their support for a potential ban on TikTok.
Back in 2020, the former President, Donald Trump, had tried to prevent new downloads of TikTok, but a series of legal decisions stopped this ban from being enforced. Ron DeSantis, currently the governor of Florida and a candidate for the presidential election, has stated that he leans towards having some nationwide prohibition on the TikTok app.
Recently in a move aimed at enhancing cybersecurity, New York City has decided to prohibit the usage of TikTok on devices owned by the city. The decision follows a thorough assessment conducted by the NYC Cyber Command, which identified potential security vulnerabilities posed by the popular social media platform.
