Close To Half of American Adults Favor TikTok Ban, Poll Shows (reuters.com) 102
According to a new Reuters/Ipsos survey, nearly half of American adults support a ban on TikTok. From the report: TikTok, owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance and used by tens of millions of Americans, has faced calls from U.S. lawmakers for a nationwide ban over concerns about possible Chinese government influence. Some 47% of respondents to the two-day poll, which concluded on Tuesday, said they at least somewhat supported "banning the social media application, TikTok, from use in the United States," while 36% opposed a ban and 17% said they didn't know.
Fifty-eight percent of Republicans favored a ban, compared to 47% of Democrats, the poll showed. The online Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted nationwide, collecting responses from 1,005 adults, including 443 Democrats and 346 Republicans. It had a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of about 4 percentage points in either direction. Last month, a Pew Research Center survey found that a majority of Americans (59%) believe the social media app is a threat to the national security of the United States.
Fifty-eight percent of Republicans favored a ban, compared to 47% of Democrats, the poll showed. The online Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted nationwide, collecting responses from 1,005 adults, including 443 Democrats and 346 Republicans. It had a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of about 4 percentage points in either direction. Last month, a Pew Research Center survey found that a majority of Americans (59%) believe the social media app is a threat to the national security of the United States.
Bans don't work (Score:2, Interesting)
See the drug war and alcohol prohibition for details
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Chinese control or Chinese snooping?
If I was forced to choose between being snooped on by another government or my own government; I would choose the other government.
In fact, Chinese citizens should use Facebook/Twitter and the West should use Tiktok.
Re: Bans don't work (Score:1)
China is better.
There you go.
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In what ways do you believe life in China is better than life in the US? This isn't any kind of attack, I'm genuinely interested in what makes you feel this way?
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China is NOT communist, it's fascist.
A communist country would not have income inequality that looks anything like what China has. It would not have ethnic cleansing like China has. It would have free healthcare, like China doesn't have. It would have a social safety net, like China doesn't have.
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I think you're getting into a game of semantics that really doesn't matter. China is totalitarian. They seem to be indifferent about whether capital is state owned or privately owned by an entity under the state's thumb. The difference between communism (in practice) and fascism isn't really that great.
I think if you're going to apply a specific label to China it ought to be Confucian Totalitarianism. Yeah, I just made that up. But if you look at China, their primary influence is Confucius, not Marx or Mach
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As a scientist, he bad no interest in reduction. He logically concluded that he and his peers had to save the people from their heinous ways. As such, any use of alcohol was unacceptable. Oddly, the rules he championed make it so the chemistry department at the university he was the dean of struggle to purchase ethanol and many experiments are abandoned due to the prohi
Re:Bans don't work (Score:4, Insightful)
Declaring all bans to be ineffective is probably a gross oversimplification. If we banned nectarines but not peaches, then no one would go out of their way to hustle the illegal nectarine trade. Or if we kept LSD illegal but legalized magic mushrooms, no one would go to the trouble of making LSD anymore.
Bans affect supply and demand. When it comes to the drug war and alcohol prohibition, the demand is/was high enough to support a black market. That seems unlikely to be the case with TikTok, where the thing itself does not become illegal, merely the supplier.
It's very easy to cut off the supply of TikTok and the demand can quickly shift to an alternative platform that does the exact same thing. No one is going to pipe through a Chinese VPN to watch stupid videos they can just watch elsewhere.
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Yeah, no matter how much of it I wipe on; my pits still sweat.
Worse yet, I found out I'm now very allergic to that lousy aluminum they use as the active ingredient.
Old Spice used to work, then they sold out to big aluminum too.
Don't talk to me about Ban.
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See the drug war and alcohol prohibition for details
Ah, but the fact that the drug war is still being funded and supported by taxpayer dollars, says a LOT as to how wrong you are.
Is it TRULY a "failed" drug war, or failing just enough to justify jobs? One has to wonder after all this time...
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Apparently propaganda does though.
I wonder if there is some bias in the ages of those surveyed here. These polls tend to skew a little older, because younger people are less likely to participate for a variety of reasons (like not answering calls from unknown numbers). That might explain why polling doesn't favour TikTok, but Facebook (which is far, far worse) is okay.
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Yeah, because your average YouBookInstaTiktogram Shorts enthusiast is going to figure out how to set up a VPN proxy just to watch dumbass dance videos.
That might be fine for the average Slashdot "reader" because we understand such things, but your average constant-scroll short-form video addict isn't gonna bother when they can just go use any of 3 other services that the exact same shit gets cross-posted to.
If you're serious about security (Score:5, Insightful)
ALL social media is a security risk, foreign and domestic.
Corporate or government, if you have anything worth protecting your policy for employees should be, "nope, and double-nope under your real name".
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Prove you NEED to be that paranoid about security.
Otherwise, no one will work for you, because addiction.
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Difficult to grasp how anyone things your comment is an insightful. At best it's simple authoritarianism just like those what want to ban TicToc in the first place. It also shows a complete lack of understanding of security. The well being of your employees is significantly important and pissing them off is a sure way to end up with a security breach.
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I believe you when you say you find it difficult to grasp.
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I have a different take. I feel like I've successfully converter people with your opinion so here we go.
Freedom of speech (including social media) must be preserved, but freedom from consequences should never have been a thing.
Facebook and TikTok and the rest should not have a blanket exemption for what is published. These platforms are selective of what they promote and elevate, they have their hand on the scale, and they should not be exempt from consequences.
They try to claim to be like the press, but
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Huh, why? If I post cutesy dog videos to Instagram, how is that a security risk for my business or government?
Why would TikTok be any worse than posting to Slashdot?
Right. That would be the republican half (Score:2)
Actually I take that back (Score:1)
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Nazis in the Ukraine?
Dude, lay off the RT, it ain't good for you. While you're at it, wane yourself of Fox News, too.
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You're dealing with a country where for more than a century that border between Russia and that country didn't exactly exist, at least not where it is today. Of course people will migrate to and from, of course some feathers will be ruffled, of course you'll deal with people who go "my land for me, fuck off" and take that to extremes. This is a given.
The question is not whether these people exist, the question is whether they make up a majority of the population. And that's simply not the case. Most Ukraini
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I saw an interview with a Russian couple that used to often visit Karkhiv before the war. In the last few months, they visited some of the quieter areas of the Donbas under Russian control.
They said they estimated that 70% of the population, almost all Russian-speaking if not ethnic Russian, were against the occupation, and likely were sources of information on troop movements and ammo storage. While I don't doubt that there will be some anti-Russian violence after the war is over and that some of the ethni
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I think that will depend on how the Ukrainians living there see their Russian neighbors. And how they're treated during the occupation now.
One of the key reasons the Germans were very harshly expelled was that they ruled with unbelievable terror in the areas they occupied. This was often not the "old" German population in those areas but rather the occupational force. If Russia can avoid doing this, the backlash will probably be far less severe.
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For some reason the trans read stories to young children half doesn't seem to mind.
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Pun appreciated but I don't think yRTFA. While not half 47% of Democrats is a very depressing number. It's obvious the divide is not left/right. All those that want the ban are conservative in their social views and unable to deal with desperate points of view.
It's easy to fix (Score:2)
Just tell them they have big dicks [youtube.com].
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How did you contact her? By medium or Ouija board?
The other half don't know what it is. (Score:2)
Turn tiktok into the same as tiktok China (Score:3)
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I take it China sees the difference in pure profit when not implementing certain restrictions on the West.
Also, why would you interrupt your enemy when they are in the process of destroying themselves...
Re: Turn tiktok into the same as tiktok China (Score:1)
I'd suggest you don't know what you're talking about. Spend a significant amount of time on the Chinese tiktok (or indeed the wechat alternative) and you'll find that their algorithm is quite objectionable too.
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I've seen Chinese TikTok, there is plenty of BS on there too. In fact some of it was quite shocking, like video of children being really badly physically abused with "look at this terrible mother" comments overlaid, people being hurt or killed in natural disasters, that kind of thing. Lots of jokes too, mostly little skits that people had made.
So largely the same as Western TikTok as far as I can tell, although I'm not on it at all so everything I've seen is what other people showed me.
Mob justice? (Score:2)
Legals decisions shouldn't be a popularity contest. Our laws are supposed to be a fair and level playing field for all participants, actions are legal or illegal, it's not based on who you are.
Also, who's being polled? Given the huge number of Tiktok users in the US, it's obvious a substantial portion of the population supports them. Otherwise it wouldn't be this popular.
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Also, who's being polled?
"These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between August 14-15, 2023 on behalf of Thomson Reuters. For this survey, a sample of 1,005 adults age 18+ from the continental U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii was interviewed online in English. The sample also includes 443 Democrats, 346 Republicans, and 137 independents.
The sample was randomly drawn from Ipsos’ online panel, partner online panel sources, and “river” sampling and does not rely on a population frame in the traditional sen
sample size 1005 (Score:2)
"The sample also includes 443 Democrats, 346 Republicans, and 137 independents."
That only totals 926. What were the other 79? Bots?
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It could be they declined to answer this question, were not able to make their mind in 5 seconds, or gave a confusing answer. Pollers will ask 3 times and if not getting a clear answer they write it down as invalid.
It could also be that these 79 people reported different names of a minority or single-state parties https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org] and the press release omits a long list of parties that are nearly unknown to the reader.
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I wonder how they handle people getting pedantic about parties. In Minnesota, there is no "Democratic Party." It's the "Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party," but it's functionally the same thing. That's the party under which Joe Biden won the state in 2020.
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What were the other 79?
Just taking a guess: actual members of the actual Communist Party, Green Party, Libertarian Party, etc. Out of 1000 people you are going to get some marginal party affiliations that are best lumped into the 1% "other" wedge on the pie, and eliminated from written descriptions for being fringe and irrelevant to the story premise.
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Therein lies a potential problem. Shouldn't the proportion of politically non-affiliated be much higher? Election turnout is only around 60% at best, and the younger generations are disproportionately not voting and non-affiliated, and they are also disproportionately the demographic that uses Tiktok. And that is if they count whose party based on who they voted for rather than actual party member.
I'm not versed in their methodology enough to know if it's statistically relevant, but I do know it's usually d
Re: Mob justice? (Score:2)
Racist anonymous coward has entered the comments section.
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Polling says black people must sit at the back of the bus.
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Also, who's being polled? Given the huge number of Tiktok users in the US, it's obvious a substantial portion of the population supports them. Otherwise it wouldn't be this popular.
Who is being polled? Olds. Because they are the ones that actually answer polls. Young people hang up, don't respond to begin with, etc. because they're too busy watching dipshit dance videos on Tiktok.
Also, young people are the most likely to not think about the risks and ramifications of something like a Tiktok app that scrapes every bit of data it can and sends it to ${DEITY}-knows-who.
I don't get what the threat is (Score:1)
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No one is forcing me to watch conspiracy nuttery either, but as we've seen recently it not only kills morons but also endangers the sane portion of the population.
Re: I don't get what the threat is (Score:2)
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I'm not talking about stupid challenges. They don't affect me at all, if anything, it's very laudable that idiots remove themselves from the gene pool, preferably before breeding.
I'm talking about the idiots that believe snakeoil peddlers selling them ineffective "cures" for transmittable diseases.
Re: I don't get what the threat is (Score:2)
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It was a reply to "nobody is forcing you to watch it", and whether I watch it or not doesn't matter, I can still be affected by it.
normal distribution (Score:2)
A full half of US adults occupy the left half of the curve.
Re: normal distribution (Score:1)
... and it isn't even half, so the conclusion should be that most people don't want it banned.
Without being a TikTokker (Score:2)
As far as I can tell, the only real problem is that it's controlled by the Chinese. So, in theory, they could be implementing algorithms that are negatively affecting Americans.
I've heard the platform has a lot of educational videos and how-tos, same as youtube. I'm sure it also has a lot of really dumb, pointless stuff. Nothing wrong with that.
Much like youtube, I'm sure it could send you down a bizarre road to extremist content but that's just what you'll end up finding on the Internet anyway. Maybe ban s
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Not a TikTokker either... World is a big place so companies from all over the world have the same right to provide internet services on a global scale.
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George Carlin quote (Score:2)
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Reality is optional for a lot of people it seems.
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Reality is that which doesn't go away when you stop believing in it.
How many favored banning Facebook? Or Twitter? (Score:3)
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How many favored banning Facebook? Or Twitter?
Fortunately in modern democracies, we don't ban things just because a number of people were outraged in a poll about it.
I mean they weren't smart enough to avoid a pollster, are these really the people we should be basing policy decisions on?
How it will be banned is more important (Score:1)
How is this being implemented? Well, to ban TikTok, they're making it so accessing TikTok is a crime, circumventing the ban will result in hefty fines. To make sure that that ban is enforced, everything you do online is monitored to make sure you don't go to the TikTok app.
No protections of your information, just a council that decides what to ban, and watches online activity to fine individuals. That's the current idea of the Restrict
Re: How it will be banned is more important (Score:1)
Most people do not support a ban.
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They wear pajamas now?
That numer tracks (Score:2)
Seems consistent with how many people buy in to such propaganda.
Funny.. (Score:2)
Re: Funny.. (Score:1)
... and it wasn't even claiming half. It didn't reach that level.
Lying with Headlines (Score:2)
What an interesting way to spin a poll. A more accurate statement might be, "A majority of Americans reject a TikTok ban." Not even with their likely leading questions could they even get a majority of Americans to say anything.
Here's what I don't understand... (Score:2)
I always hear these stories about something being a "risk to national security". And I think to myself "What risk?".
Let's assume that the Chinese government *can* get all your phone data from the TikTok app. And let's assume that they *do* grab that information and have enough people to digest it. What data could possibly be gathered that would be a risk to national security?
You could read every single e-mail I've ever written. You could have the data from every technology device I've ever owned, including
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I read the report, thank you. And all it contained as far as I can tell is the author stating that China gaining intelligence on American Citizens is a "threat to national security". It doesn't give any examples of what I've asked for - a specific instance of something that China *would* or *could* do with TikTok data that would be a TTNS.
"It makes it easier to get intelligence by turning agents blah blah blah"... and?! It's not 1972 any more. So China "turns" 10% of their targets into intelligence agents
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I don't find it implausible at all... I'm sure "agents" are "recruited" every day. But where's the *threat*? Where's the *action* that is going to damage America or Americans in some way? They recruit a few sailors, wow great for them. They recruit an admiral. A general. And what? Are they going to ask them to fire on US targets? Are they going to invade America? Is there an actual *THREAT* to your life and your way of living? No, no and no. China can look at all the data they want, but they're not going to
Ok ban it (Score:2)
"Hello?"
"Hello, I'm calling on behalf of secret company to ask you an important question, may I?"
"Sure."
"Are you in favor of banning TikTok?"
"Sure, why not."
"Thank you."
"By the way, what is TikTok?"
How many adults are tiktok users? (Score:2)
Now repeat the survey among actual tiktok users.
Now repeat the survey showing how certain demographics want to ban library books that are read by people not in that demographic.
Rinse and repeat about how certain demographics want to ban a widget that are used by people not in that demographic.
Nothing has changed. If it weren't for you meddling .... Why are we always so concerned about other people doing things that have only theoretical or imagined impacts on us?