A plurality of Americans support a law that may ban TikTok ahead of a crucial U.S. Supreme Court hearing into the social media platform's future, according to a new poll.
Newsweek reached out to TikTok for comment via the company's press contact form.
Why It Matters
TikTok, a popular social media platform used by millions of Americans, faces a potential ban if parent company ByteDance does not sell it by January 19.
Lawmakers cited concerns about whether the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would use TikTok to undermine U.S. national security. Calls for the ban gained momentum last spring during widespread college campus protests against support for Israel amid its war in Gaza that followed the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.
The company, however, has raised First Amendment arguments about why the app shouldn't be banned, bringing the case to the Supreme Court in hopes of preventing the ban from taking effect. A ban would also disrupt the creator economy for many influencers who have built a following and stream of income from the platform.
What To Know
A new poll from YouGov and The Economist found that a plurality of Americans support the law, though many are still unsure how they feel about it.
The poll found that 44 percent support the law, while only 22 percent oppose it. An additional 34 percent say they aren't sure about the law.
Meanwhile, 34 percent agreed that TikTok poses a national security threat to the U.S., while 36 percent said it doesn't. Thirty percent responded that they aren't sure whether it poses a national security threat.
The poll surveyed 1,704 U.S. adults from January 5-8.
It comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments into whether they should stop the TikTok ban from going into effect. The hearing is scheduled for Friday morning, though it's unclear when the court will make its ruling.
President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to return to the White House on January 20, just one day after the ban is set to go into effect, has filed a friend-of-the-court brief asking the court to delay the ban until after he takes office to give him a chance to strike a deal that would address national security concerns and prevent the app from being banned.
What People Are Saying
President-elect Donald Trump at a December 16 press conference: "I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok because I won youth [in the 2024 election] by 34 points. And there are those who say TikTok has something to do with it."
Kevin O'Leary, businessman and Shark Tank star, on Fox News' The Story with Martha MacCallum: "I have joined with Frank McCourt to buy TikTok, and this is a very complicated deal. It's a multibillion-dollar deal. We're going to have to work with President Trump. This is a bipartisan situation. We have to work initially with Biden, and we want to. And then, on midday, 12:05, Trump will be who we have to work with to close the deal in the months ahead."
What Happens Next
In an earlier court filing, TikTok said that even a one-month shutdown would cost the app about one-third of its daily U.S. users.
The ban would bar online stores from distributing or updating the app. So even if it doesn't require users to immediately remove the app, a lack of maintenance could, over time, make it more difficult to use.
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