The number of Americans who support banning TikTok has fallen dramatically over the past two years, according to a new poll.
Just 34 percent of surveyed Americans said they support a TikTok ban, down from 50 percent in March 2023, according to new polling from the Pew Research Center released Tuesday. The poll was released just a week before President Trump’s deadline to reach a deal and avert a ban on the popular video-sharing platform.
The portion of U.S. adults who believe the app poses a national security threat has also declined, falling from 59 percent in 2023 to 49 percent in February.
Republicans remain more likely than Democrats to back a TikTok ban, although their support has dropped over the past two years. Some 39 percent of surveyed Republicans said they support a ban, down from 60 percent in 2023.
Democrats’ support for a ban has declined from 43 percent to 30 percent over the same period.
Among those who back a ban on the app, more than 9 in 10 cited data security risks and TikTok’s Chinese parent company. Those concerns were central to Congress’s push last year to pass legislation requiring the app’s parent company ByteDance to divest or face a U.S. ban.
After former President Biden signed the law last April, it was set to go into effect on Jan. 19, the day before Trump’s inauguration. Biden ultimately opted not to enforce the law in his final days in office.
Shortly after Trump’s inauguration, he signed an executive order delaying enforcement of the law another 75 days amid a push to strike a deal. Numerous buyers have lined up, including Larry Ellison’s Oracle, which has recently become a top contender, according to The Information.
As the April 5 deadline nears, Trump has suggested that he could delay the deadline again if necessary. However, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said earlier this month that the president would still like to reach a deal under the current deadline.
A trio of Senate Democrats — Sens. Ed Markey (Mass.), Chris Van Hollen (Md.) and Cory Booker (N.J.) — urged the administration Monday to disclose its efforts to keep TikTok available and work with Congress to extend the deadline if necessary.
They pointed to legislation that would push back the deadline to Oct. 16.
“If you need additional time to complete a deal, we urge you to direct Senate Republicans to pass our legislation and provide the companies with legal certainty to keep TikTok online and in the app stores over the next few months,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Trump.
