Reuters Survey/Ipsos: Nearly Half Of US Adults Support TikTok Ban

JAKARTA - About 47% of the new survey respondents from Reuters/Ipsos ending on Tuesday 15 August revealed that they are at least somewhat supportive of the "ban on the use of social media app TikTok in the United States," while 36% opposed the ban and 17% said they didn't know.

TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance and used by tens of millions of Americans, has faced demands from US lawmakers to ban it nationally due to concerns about the possible influence of the Chinese government.

The majority of Republicans (58%) support the ban, compared to the Democratic Party (47%), the survey results.

The survey also expressed deep concern among Americans about China's global influence at a time when US-China relations slumped to their lowest point in decades.

The online survey of Reuters/Ipsos was conducted nationally and gathered responses from 1,005 adults, including 443 Democrats and 346 Republicans. The survey has an interval of credibility, a measure of accuracy, about 4 percentage points in any direction.

FBI director Christopher Wray said in March that the Chinese government could use TikTok to control software on millions of devices and form narratives to divide Americans, adding that the app was "squeezing" about national security concerns.

Other US intelligence officials, including CIA Director William Burns, also said that TikTok was a threat.

TikTok said in a statement that more than 150 million Americans, including 5 million US businesses, are actively using TikTok to make a living, interact in class, and find communities.

"We have taken unprecedented measures to protect protected US user data, and we will continue to work to build a platform that is secure, secure, and inclusive to ensure a positive experience for our users in every corner of the country," said a TikTok spokesperson.

Efforts to provide Joe Biden's administration with new powers to ban TikTok have stalled in Congress. Last month, US lawmakers said they were considering changes to address concerns about the law.

However, this issue could be a focus for Republicans in the 2024 US presidential campaign, with several candidates supporting the ban on TikTok.

Former US President Donald Trump in 2020 sought to ban TikTok's new downloads, but a series of court decisions prevented the ban from taking effect.

Florida Governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis have said he supports a national ban on the app.