CGO: Most Americans don't trust tech companies to collect and use data

CGO surveyed people on their trust in different technology companies in collecting and using data. The least trusted technology companies are TikTok (59%), Facebook (58%) and Twitter (55%). Men are generally less trusting of these technology companies.

The more educated people are, the less they trust tech companies. Americans with graduate degrees are less likely to trust Facebook (73%) than high school graduates (49%).

Political ideology also influences trust levels. Conservatives are less likely than liberals to trust tech companies like Facebook (69% vs. 55%), Amazon (40% vs. 34%), and Google (53% vs. 28%).

The survey found that distrust of Twitter and Amazon rose slightly, from 50% and 28% to 55% and 34% respectively, while Zoom was the only company to see a significant improvement in its reputation.

Distrust of government

After the 2020 election, distrust among Republicans about the federal government's proper use of personal data increased sharply, while distrust among Democrats decreased.

Regulation of technology companies

About half of Americans want Facebook (53%), Amazon (48%) and Google (44%) to be broken up, but others are not sure.

Most Americans support free speech in principle (81%). At the same time, most support social media being held accountable for false posts (62%) or offensive content (53%).

Conventional wisdom holds that young Americans are more supportive of restricting speech.

Most conservatives and liberals support breaking up big tech companies (60% vs. 54%, respectively). Opinion is more divided over whether more government regulation is the right approach.

News Media

When asked whether “most news coverage is beneficial to American society,” Americans were almost evenly split (41% agree, 43% disagree).

Social Media and Politics

Only a minority of Americans use social media primarily to share their political beliefs (23%), and many are uncomfortable with that (49%). Most see social media as a platform for “important public policy conversations” (55%).