Do Americans support a possible TikTok ban? What the poll shows.

On By Littum

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With a potential TikTok ban looming for the app’s 170 million users in the US, it begs the question: How much public support is there for the ban?

Not much.

Between March 2023 and August 2024, support for the ban fell from 50% to 32% of Americans, according to a Pew Research Center poll published in September. Pew told USA TODAY on Wednesday that is the most recent data available.

During the same period, Americans reporting that they opposed the ban rose from 22% to 28%. ONE change.org petition called “Keep TikTok – Protect National Security Without Sacrificing Opportunity,” has garnered more than 120,000 signatures since being published in December.

One way for TikTok to be saved at the 11th hour comes in the form of the US Supreme Court. The court is deciding the ban’s fate, and experts say SCOTUS is likely to uphold it. The court had not issued a ruling by Wednesday.

Declining popular support

According to Pew Research Center50% of Americans polled supported a ban on TikTok, while 22% opposed it in March 2023.

The survey also found that support for the ban fell among both major political parties. As of March 2023, 60% of Republicans and 43% of Democrats supported the ban. In the fall, only 42% of Republicans and 24% of Democrats supported it.

So what’s up with TikTok?

TikTok and its China-based parent company ByteDance are trying to block a law signed by President Joe Biden that would ban the video app from January 19 unless it sells its US operation due to national security concerns.

The social media giant has asked the Supreme Court to put the ban on hold during the legal process, and while judges heard arguments last week, no decision has yet been released. If the ban goes into effect on Sunday, Apple and Google will no longer be able to offer TikTok for downloads to new users, but existing users will still be able to access the app.

The US government and TikTok agree that the app would degrade and eventually become unusable over time because companies would not be able to offer support services.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trendy news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him at X @fern_cerv_.