Half support banning TikTok, as the 2024 presidential election remains a toss-up

Washington, DC, May 1, 2024 -- A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll reveals a close race in the upcoming 2024 presidential election, with former President Donald Trump holding a slight lead over incumbent President Joe Biden. The poll also highlights that about half support banning TikTok in the United States. 

Detailed Findings:

• The latest Ipsos poll indicates a tight race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, unchanged from March. Among all respondents, Trump holds a two-point advantage (37% Trump, 35% Biden). Among registered voters, Biden leads by one point (40% Biden, 39% Trump).
• On another topic, Americans are divided on whether to ban TikTok in the United States, with half of Americans (50%) supporting, one in three (32%) opposing, and 18% unsure of their opinion here. While most older Americans, ages 35-54 (54%) or 55+ (60%), say they support a TikTok ban, just 31% of those ages 18-34 say the same. Instead, 50% of Americans ages 18-34 say they oppose banning TikTok.
• Forty-six percent of Americans believe the Chinese government utilizes TikTok to spy on American public officials. However, 16% of Americans do not think this is the case and 37% are not sure.
• More Americans (58%) think the Chinese government uses TikTok to influence American public opinion. About 13% of Americans do not think this is the case while 28% of Americans are not sure.
• Despite these concerns, 90% of Americans believe content creators would migrate to alternative platforms if TikTok were banned.
• Additionally, 45% worry a TikTok ban would negatively impact small businesses or performing artists, and 46% agree that a ban would infringe upon free speech rights.

About the Study

This Ipsos poll was conducted April 29-30, 2024 on behalf of Reuters using the KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a representative sample of 1,022 U.S. residents, age 18 or older.

The study was conducted in English. The data were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race and ethnicity, census region, metropolitan status, education, and household income. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2023 March Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS). The weighting categories were as follows:

• Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18-29, 30-44, 45-59, 60+)
• Race-Ethnicity (White/Non-Hispanic, Black/Non-Hispanic, Other/Non-Hispanic and 2+ Races/Non-Hispanic, Hispanic)
• Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West) 
• Metropolitan Status (Metro, Non-Metro)
• Education (High School graduate or less, Some College, Bachelor or higher)
• Household Income (under $25K, $25K-$49,999, $50K-$74,999, $75K-$99,999, $100K-$149,999, $150K and over)

The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.08 for all adults. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Chris Jackson
Senior Vice President, US
Public Affairs
+1 202 420-2025
[email protected]

Annaleise Azevedo Lohr
Director, U.S.
Public Affairs
[email protected]

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