58% Americans Consider TikTok A Chinese Influence Tool Amid Potential Government Ban: Report

In a recent development, a majority of Americans view TikTok, a social media platform owned by China’s ByteDance, as a tool for Chinese influence on US public opinion, a Reuters/Ipsos poll reveals.

What Happened: The poll disclosed that 58% of the participants agreed with the notion that the Chinese government uses TikTok to “influence American public opinion,” Reuters reported. Only 13% disagreed, while the rest were unsure or did not respond. The poll also highlighted that Republicans were more likely than Democrats to hold this belief.

TikTok, with over 170 million U.S. users, has consistently denied sharing user data with the Chinese government. Despite investing over $1.5 billion in data security measures, the platform faces scrutiny as President Joe Biden recently signed legislation giving ByteDance 270 days to divest TikTok’s U.S. assets or face a ban.

See Also: Meta’s Chief AI Scientist Reveals Mark Zuckerberg Was ‘Snubbed’ From Biden’s AI Safety Institute; Elon Musk Also Missing From The List

Moreover, 50% of Americans support banning TikTok, while 32% oppose the ban. The poll did not include the views of those under 18, a significant portion of TikTok’s U.S. user base. Moreover, 46% of Americans believe that China uses the app to “spy on everyday Americans,” a claim that Beijing has refuted.

Why It Matters: The future of TikTok in the United States hangs in the balance as its parent company, ByteDance, considers shutting down the app rather than selling it amid legal battles. If ByteDance exhausts all legal options against the impending ban, it may opt for a shutdown over a sale.

In a video, TikTok CEO Shou Chew promised that the Beijing-based company would first fight the ban in court. This video, which has almost 3 million views, was released in response to the potential ban. The app’s core algorithms, integral to ByteDance's operations, make a sale unlikely.

Read Next: Elon Musk Unfollows Tesla Investor Sawyer Merritt Over Alleged Confidential Information Leak: ‘Don’t Post… And Expect Me To Follow’

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock