- A recent SocialSphere survey indicated that 51% of Gen Z voters are concerned about TikTok security issues, while 64% of Millennial voters worry about the app's like to the Chinese Communist Party.
- TikTok CEO told US Congress that the Chinese government has no control over the app.
- Amid growing data security concerns, the Netherlands and Norway imposed TikTok restrictions following the measures of the European Union and other western nations.
A recent study found that most Generation Z voters reject a nationwide ban on TikTok, even if they are worried about Chinese government involvement.
SocialSphere surveyed people aged 18-26 and discovered that 51% of that demographic is worried that TikTok's parent business, ByteDance, has links to the Chinese Communist Party. The same worry was expressed by 64% of millennial voters, who are between the ages of 27 and 42.
Nevertheless, just 34% of Gen Z voters agreed with the millennials' support to get TikTok banned if its Chinese owners don't sell to a US operator, according to a report from The Hill.
More than 150 million people in the United States use TikTok. To compare, approximately 43% of millennial voters claimed they had an active TikTok account (defined as having been used within the past 30 days), but 71% of Gen Z voters did.
Backing for TikTok banned increased when users were informed that the US government is worried about China utilizing TikTok to gather data and circulate propaganda.
The survey indicated that among voters in Gen Z, 28% said that TikTok was "made for people like me," with Instagram coming in second with 23 percent.
TikTok CEO Insists App Is Not Controlled by China
The poll, which was conducted online on March 22, 2023, among 1,607 registered US voters aged 18 to 42, has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points, per NBC News.
The news about the survey came after TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before US Congress on Thursday to address concerns about the company's links to the Chinese government and criticism of the company's efforts to safeguard user data in the United States, prompting calls for US ban TikTok.
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During his US Congress testimony, Shou Zi Chew emphasized TikTok's autonomy from the Chinese government. He said that TikTok is blocked in mainland China, and the company's main offices are in Los Angeles and Singapore, per an earlier HNGN report.
The TikTok CEO made the statement in response to expert concerns that ByteDance, TikTok's Beijing-based parent company, is required to comply with Chinese data request guidelines that require businesses to provide the government with user information.
TikTok Ban Grows in the West
Meanwhile, concerns about TikTok's privacy and security have led the Netherlands and Norway to restrict TikTok usage on government-issued smartphones.
On Tuesday, the Dutch ministry of internal affairs issued a statement saying it opposed using any applications from "countries with an aggressive cyber-program" aiming against the Netherlands or Dutch interests on government-issued smartphones.
Although TikTok was not specifically named, the statement did follow a warning from the Dutch intelligence agency AIVD that apps developed in countries like China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran posed "a heightened risk of espionage," per EuroNews.
On Tuesday, Norway's minister of justice also advised government workers to avoid using TikTok while in the office.
TikTok has been banned in many countries lately because of cybersecurity concerns, including the European Union, Denmark, Belgium, and Canada.
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