Support for a TikTok ban among Americans is diminishing, according to a recent study conducted by the Pew Research Center. The survey, which included over 5,000 U.S. adults, revealed that only 34% of respondents are in favor of banning the popular short-form video app. This marks a significant decline from 2023, when 50% of adults supported a ban.
Simultaneously, the study indicates an increase in opposition to the ban. In 2023, 22% of respondents expressed opposition, while that number rose to 32% in the latest survey. These shifting opinions are consistent across political affiliations. Support for the ban among Republican and Republican-leaning voters has dropped from 60% in March 2023 to 30% currently. Similarly, support among Democrats and Democratic-leaning respondents has decreased from 43% to 30%.
Interestingly, individuals who do not use TikTok are nearly four times more likely to endorse a ban compared to those who do use the app—only 12% of TikTok users support a ban, whereas 45% of non-users do. Despite the declining support for a ban, TikTok’s future in the U.S. remains uncertain. In April, former President Joe Biden signed legislation to potentially ban TikTok, citing concerns over Chinese surveillance. This law mandated that the Chinese parent company, ByteDance, must sell the app to an American firm by January 19, 2025, the day before the next presidential inauguration.
As the deadline approached, the TikTok app briefly went offline for American users for about twelve hours before returning. President Trump later extended ByteDance’s sale deadline by three months to April 19.
There are rumors that American companies such as Oracle, Microsoft, and Perplexity AI are interested in acquiring TikTok, but ByteDance has yet to express any intention to sell.
