Last week, the White House expressed support for the RESTRICT Act (Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology), a new bipartisan Senate bill. This legislation would grant the Biden administration powers to ban TikTok in the U.S., along with tech platforms aligned with foreign adversaries that pose potential national security risks. Federal officials have warned about privacy and security concerns pertaining to TikTok, but this is the first major bill to gain traction.
CivicScience wanted to gauge American sentiment toward the Congressional efforts that would allow the Biden administration to ban TikTok. According to the latest data, a strong majority of U.S. adults approve of this legislation (64%, with 40% claiming they ‘strongly approve’). Although it still retains majority support among Gen Z adults aged 18-24 (50%), the age group is nearly twice as likely to disapprove of the bill than adults aged 35 and older.
Support for the RESTRICT Act almost mirrors concern levels for potential security and privacy risks (69% claiming to be at least ‘somewhat concerned,’ with 41% expressing the highest level of concern). But the age group splits are even more pronounced than the bill, with more Gen Z adults claiming they’re ‘not at all concerned’ (29%) than ‘very concerned’ (17%) about potential risks associated with using TikTok. Adults 35 and older are more than twice as likely as Gen Z adults to report the highest level of concern.
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