From April 15 to 23, 2022, Accountable Tech and Data for Progress conducted a survey of 951 likely voters in California using web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, geography, and voting history. Respondents were grouped by region based on self-identified county. The survey included an oversample of the Bay Area region. The polling reveals that large majorities of voters across California are concerned by Big Tech’s business practices around children:
California Voters Are Concerned for Children’s Safety on Tech Platforms
Seventy-one percent of likely California voters, including 70 percent of parents, believe social media platforms are unsafe for children.
84 percent of likely California voters believe that the internet is generally unsafe for children.
California voters overwhelmingly believe that Big Tech companies utilize harmful practices including sharing children’s data to third parties, allowing contact between children and unknown adults, and recommending dangerous content.
California Voters Believe Lawmakers and Big Tech Need to Do More to Protect Children Online
82 percent of likely California voters believe that Big Tech companies need to do more to protect children online.
California voters overwhelmingly believe that regulations are needed for Big Tech companies to protect children online.
Likely California voters support the passage of the California Age-Appropriate Design Code to require Big Tech companies and digital platforms to protect children online by design and by default. The bill has majority support from Republicans and Democrats in California.
