TikTok Ban in the US: Half of Americans Wants the Social Media Gone in the Country, As Per a Survey

Isaiah Richard, Tech Times 31 March 2023, 09:03 pm

Americans have spoken, and there is a significant percentage of them, as much as 50 percent in the country claimed that they want the Chinese short video social media platform, TikTok, to be banned in the US. This came after a survey from the Pew Research Center which gathered insights from the public regarding the looming case of TikTok in Congress.

The survey presents a view on how the public perceives the social media, with only 22 percent opposing the idea of banning the Chinese-owned app in the country.

TikTok Ban in the US: Half of Americans Want it Gone as per Survey

(Photo : Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

The Pew Research Center's recent report claims that in a survey conducted by the organization, it found a sweeping 50 percent of Americans want to ban TikTok in the US. This is against the 22 percent who disagree with this possibility, and as much as 28 percent of the general public answering they are not sure about the ban.

According to CNET, this survey is timely as TikTok is facing a possible ban in the US, with Congress' proceedings evaluating what needs to be done with the platform. There were also many testimonies from different agencies like the FBI, claiming that TikTok is a massive threat to Americans' data and information, with the way it collects data from its users.

TikTok Users Do Not Want the App Gone

In Pew Research Center's survey, the numbers drastically change when it asked TikTok users about the ban. Only 19 percent of its users support the US government ban on the platform, while 56 percent of the participants oppose this possibility.

TikTok has more than 150 million active users in the United States alone, and is one of the largest social media platforms in the country, surpassing massive names in the industry.

TikTok Ban in the US

The hearing regarding the US ban on the famous social media platform, TikTok, is currently evaluating the proceedings, with the information shared among the lawmakers and the company's executives. TikTok CEO Shou Chew faced Congress and got grilled by the politicians present, but the high-ranking executive from the company remained composed.

Moreover, TikTok's COO claimed that there was a significant display of xenophobia present in the hearing, against the CEO and the app.

The TikTok hearing saw significant inputs from both sides, from wanting to maintain data and information private to Americans, to the social media elaborating on ways to protect the data of its users in the country.

Still, some politicians welcome the idea of stricter implementation of TikTok's access to data instead of the platform's ban, with New York representative, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez behind this proposition.

TikTok's hearing in Congress is one of the most iconic cases in the present, a significant topic in the public which was recently summed up in a survey, to which many Americans feel to have it banned in the country.