More than three-fourths of U.S. college students believe social media companies like Facebook and Twitter have too much power and influence in politics, and a majority want more government regulation of Big Tech, a new survey finds.
In a national survey of 852 college students, conducted January 22-25, 2021 by Generation Lab for Axios, respondents were asked to gauge the amount of “power and influence in politics today” wielded by Big Tech companies. More than three times as many said Big Tech exerts too much influence as said it exhibits the right amount or not enough:
- Too Much: 77%
- About the Right Amount: 22%
- Not Enough: 1%
“Clear majorities (96% of Republicans and 70% of Democrats) also agreed that social media companies have too much power and influence in politics,” Axios reports.
A slight majority (51%) of college students said government should get more involved in regulating Big Tech companies, while 38% said they think there’s already “about the right amount” of government regulation. Just 11% said there should be less.
Democrats (52%) were more likely than Republicans (43%) to want greater government regulation. Still, more Republicans called for additional regulation than said they were either satisfied with the status quo or wanted less.
