Nearly 60% of voters say government should break up or take other action against social media giants

Just one-quarter of respondents said platforms like Facebook and Twitter should be 'left alone'

Published: August 4, 2020 11:05am

Updated: August 4, 2020 3:36pm

Just under 60% of Americans say the government should take some sort of action against social media companies, according to a new Just the News Daily Poll with Scott Rasmussen.

A total of 19% of respondents said social media companies should be "broken up," while 39% said they should be at the very least "regulated." Just 26% said the tech companies should be "left alone," while 16% of respondents expressed uncertainty. 

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Just the News Poll, Should social media companies be broken up?
Just the News Daily Poll
With Scott Rasmussen

 

The lopsided response in favor of government action against social media companies comes amid a debate in Washington and elsewhere about the proper level of regulatory oversight to which those companies should be subject.

Some have claimed that recent decisions by Facebook and Twitter to edit or censor content posted on their respective websites prove that the companies should be stripped of the liability protections extended to ostensibly neutral Internet platforms. 

The national survey of 1,200 registered voters was conducted Jul. 30 - Aug. 1, 2020 by Scott Rasmussen, a polling veteran. The margin of sampling error is +/- 2.8% for full sample. 

To see the full demographic cross-tabulations for this polling question, click here.

To see the methodology and sample demographics for this polling question, click here.

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