An ABC News/Ipsos survey reveals a divide in the US population regarding the TikTok ban issue. Young adults and regular app users oppose the federal government's planned sale or prohibition of the popular social networking app. In contrast, older people, infrequent users, and nonusers favor the government's action.
The survey found that 51% of respondents agree that the US government should force a TikTok sale, 46% disagree, 53% favor a TikTok ban if it continues under Chinese ownership, and 44% oppose it, as reported by the media outlet.
User demographics affect TikTok sentiments, according to the poll. Regular app users, or 34% of adults, are most resistant to government action, with 75% rejecting a forced sale and 84% opposing a ban. The majority of uncommon users and nonusers support mandatory divestment or a ban, while occasional users have mixed opinions about a forced sale.
The poll reflects generational variations in TikTok users: 55% of individuals aged 18 to 29 using the platform and 14% of 65-year-olds. Thus, just 39% of people under 30 support a TikTok ban, compared to 70% of seniors.
Survey: TikTok Users are Not Just Gen Zs
Republicans and conservatives support a ban more than Democrats, independents, and moderates, according to the survey. While Biden voters are divided, the majority of Trump supporters support both a forced sale and a ban.
The poll was conducted using the Ipsos KnowledgePanel from April 25-30, 2024, wherein 2,260 individuals participated with a 2 percentage point margin of sampling error.
According to the US TikTok ban measure, ByteDance must sell the app within nine months. Legislators, security experts, and the Biden administration justify the measure as a means to address the threat of the Chinese government using ByteDance to acquire crucial TikTok user data or promote propaganda.
Separately, TikTok officials informed advertisers that 170 million monthly US users had begun to resemble the broader population, per The New York Times. TikTok US enterprise sales chief Tim Natividad noted that platform users are no longer "just Gen Z."
TikTok, a popular platform for marketers selling beauty, fast food, music, and more, relies on advertising. Despite its uncertain future, the firm looks desperate to preserve ad money as US internet giants focus on market share and promote short-form video competitors like Google's YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels.
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(Photo : Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Participants hold signs in support of TikTok at a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol Building on March 12, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Private companies like TikTok and ByteDance, owned by Chinese investors, do not publish their financials. A recent estimate by independent ad industry researcher Brian Wieser projected that TikTok earned $6 billion in US ad sales last year, excluding e-commerce, tipping, and other income.
According to eMarketer, US TikTok users spend 54 minutes per day on the app, whereas Instagram users spend 35 minutes, 21 of which are videos.
Lawmakers Support TikTok Ban to Protect Youngsters from 'Brainwashing'
The dark-money group No Labels sponsored a webinar last Wednesday with renowned personalities who oppose student protests in Gaza, Rolling Stone reported. During the event, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) asserted that the inclusion of the TikTok bill in the overseas supplementary assistance package was primarily due to student protests. According to Lawler, these protests demonstrated how organized groups or nations use children to stir hatred and create a dangerous climate in the United States.
Lawler, a co-sponsor of the TikTok ban legislation, also made unfounded claims that hired agitators and activists staged the student demonstrations.
Former Rep. Mike Gallagher wrote an op-ed in November accusing TikTok of "brainwashing our youth against the country and our allies" by promoting a "pro-Hamas" video. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said China uses the app to spread propaganda and minimize Hamas terrorism.
TikTok has denied that it favors pro-Palestinian content or bans pro-Israeli content. Since October 7, 2023, Facebook has banned over 3.1 million videos and suspended over 140,000 livestreams in Israel and Palestine for supporting Hamas, hate speech, violent extremism, and disinformation. In almost the same period, TikTok removed almost 320 million bogus accounts worldwide.
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