Big Tech has emerged as one of the most dominant forces in the world, and that has resulted in a lot of governments trying to regulate it. With companies like Facebook developing truly awful reputations for not taking user privacy seriously, general sentiments among consumers was that government regulation of Big Tech was a good thing because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up keeping their data collection in check.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center has revealed shifting sentiments among Americans regarding tech regulation as compared to last year. In the previous year, around 56% of Americans wanted more regulation for Big Tech by government organizations. In spite of the fact that this is the case, only around 44% said the same this year, so there is definitely a change in the public consciousness that is underway.
However, consumers don’t have a more positive outlook on tech with all things having been considered and taken into account. Rather, they might feel like government organizations are not efficient enough to do what needs to be done. 77% of respondents to this survey said that they felt like social media platforms were censoring their views, and while conservative respondents were more likely to feel this way, plenty of left wing Americans also feel like censorship is on the rise.
While there is no evidence that social media platforms censor conservatives more than others, indeed some studies have shown that social media algorithms tend to boost conservative viewpoints and make them go viral a lot more often than with liberal content, 90% of Republicans feel like they are being unfairly targeted. Conservatives generally don’t like the idea of the government stepping in, so even though they have issues with social media platforms they might prefer that it get handled in the private sector without the government overreaching or having its powers increased by any amount.
Read next: Websites Show Pandemic Driven Comeback, Outpaces App Usage Growth Rate
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center has revealed shifting sentiments among Americans regarding tech regulation as compared to last year. In the previous year, around 56% of Americans wanted more regulation for Big Tech by government organizations. In spite of the fact that this is the case, only around 44% said the same this year, so there is definitely a change in the public consciousness that is underway.
However, consumers don’t have a more positive outlook on tech with all things having been considered and taken into account. Rather, they might feel like government organizations are not efficient enough to do what needs to be done. 77% of respondents to this survey said that they felt like social media platforms were censoring their views, and while conservative respondents were more likely to feel this way, plenty of left wing Americans also feel like censorship is on the rise.
While there is no evidence that social media platforms censor conservatives more than others, indeed some studies have shown that social media algorithms tend to boost conservative viewpoints and make them go viral a lot more often than with liberal content, 90% of Republicans feel like they are being unfairly targeted. Conservatives generally don’t like the idea of the government stepping in, so even though they have issues with social media platforms they might prefer that it get handled in the private sector without the government overreaching or having its powers increased by any amount.
Read next: Websites Show Pandemic Driven Comeback, Outpaces App Usage Growth Rate
