[Graphic News] Close to half of Americans favor TikTok ban: poll

Close to half of American adults support a ban on the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos survey that also asked questions about national security concerns and China.

TikTok, owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance and used by tens of millions of Americans, has faced calls from US lawmakers for a nationwide ban over concerns about possible Chinese government influence.

Some 47 percent of respondents to the two-day poll, which concluded on Aug. 15, said they at least somewhat supported “banning the social media application, TikTok, from use in the United States,” while 36 percent opposed a ban and 17 percent said they didn’t know.

Fifty-eight percent of Republicans favored a ban, compared to 47 percent of Democrats, the poll showed.

The survey also revealed deep worries among Americans about China’s global influence at a time when US-China relations have fallen to their lowest point in decades. (Reuters)