A majority of Americans see China’s famous TikTok game as a Chinese device meant to control and form U. S. public view, according to a Reuters/Ipsos surveys.
Some 58 percent of respondents agreed with that the Chinese government uses TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, to “influence American public opinion”, while , 13 percent disagreed, with the rest saying they were unsure or did n’t answer, according to a report by Reuters.
Shou Zi Chew, chief executive officer of TikTok Inc., during an appointment at the TikTok office in New York, U. S., on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. ( Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg/Getty )
However,  , 46 percent of Americans agreed that China uses TikTok to” traitor on regular Americans”.
Democrats were also more likely than Democrats to view China using the software to influence American opinion, according to the study. Also,  , 50 percent of Americans supported banning TikTok, while 32 percentage opposed a ban. The remainder were confused.
A majority of Americans, 60 percent, also said it was unacceptable for U. S. political individuals to use the Chinese software to encourage their efforts.
Importantly, the study just featured U. S. child respondents, so the benefits do not show the opinions of U. S. kids and teens under the age of 18, a demographic that makes up a significant , number of U. S. TikTok users.
Moreover, six in ten , responders aged 40 or older help a TikTok restrictions, with only four in ten respondents aged 18 to 39 cooperating.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online and collected messages from 1, 022 U. S. people across the country. The study apparently had , a margin of error of about 3 percent items.
As Breitbart News reported, some original TikTok workers have come out saying the company’s claim that it was walling off U. S. customer data from ByteDance, which is , indebted to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), simply applied to the “front entry” while the game left the rear door wide open.
ByteDance is required to sell TikTok within nine months ( by January 19 ) or face a ban in the United States, according to President Joe Biden’s bill last week.
TikTok CEO , Shou Zi Chew , responded to the sell- or- ban legislation saying the Chinese parent company plans to use America’s laws against the United States to fight the sell- or- ban legislation in court, declaring,” The Constitution is on our side”.
ByteDance, meanwhile, says it prefers that TikTok just shuts down in the United States if its legal challenge fails in court.
You can , follow Alana , Mastrangelo on , Facebook , and X/Twitter at , @ARmastrangelo, and on , Instagram.
