Cyberterrorism, China top list of international concerns for Americans, Gallup says
Most Americans deem cyberterrorism as the most critical threat to the United States, a new poll from Gallup says.
March 22 (UPI) -- Most Americans view cyberterrorism as the most critical threat to the United States, a new poll from Gallup says.
Gallup's poll on world affairs measured how important respondents perceive 11 potential threats to the country. Cyberterrorism overwhelmingly outpaced the other topics, with 85% of respondents calling it a "critical threat."
Responses to cyberterrorism were consistent across political party lines, with 86% of both Democrats and Republicans calling it a critical threat. About 79% of Independents answered this way.
"Americans continue to cite cyberterrorism as the leading critical threat to U.S. vital security interests, as they have since 2021," Mohamad Younis of Gallup wrote. "Before that, international terrorism and the development of nuclear weapons by Iran and North Korea ranked highest. But concern about each of these has ebbed over the past decade."
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The Department of Defense shares in the concerns about cyberterrorism. In a 2022 report, the department said that while state actors like China and Russia are commonly considered the most likely adversaries in cyber warfare, independent criminal organizations also pose a significant threat.
"I think we've seen over time with the development of the non-state actor -- the criminal cyber market -- is that capabilities that were once reserved for state actors are available on the dark web for purchase," Mieke Eoyang, deputy assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy, told DOD News.
Respondents almost evenly reported that North Korea and Iran developing nuclear weapons was the second most critical threat, followed by international terrorism. Iran ranked higher by a percentage point at 74%. The nuclear capabilities of North Korea and Iran have remained high on the list of threats, though Gallup notes that this year's marks fall nearly 10% short of their record-high responses in past years.
The Department of Defense shares in the concerns about cyberterrorism. In a 2022 report, the department said that while state actors like China and Russia are commonly considered the most likely adversaries in cyber warfare, independent criminal organizations also pose a significant threat.
"I think we've seen over time with the development of the non-state actor -- the criminal cyber market -- is that capabilities that were once reserved for state actors are available on the dark web for purchase," Mieke Eoyang, deputy assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy, told DOD News.
Respondents almost evenly reported that North Korea and Iran developing nuclear weapons was the second most critical threat, followed by international terrorism. Iran ranked higher by a percentage point at 74%. The nuclear capabilities of North Korea and Iran have remained high on the list of threats, though Gallup notes that this year's marks fall nearly 10% short of their record-high responses in past years.
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The topics that saw the most dramatic changes in this year's survey were the military power of China, immigration and climate change. Political biases showed in how people responded to these topics, with Republicans more likely to see China and immigration as a critical threat and Democrats perceiving climate change as a greater threat.
Immigration and climate change had the deepest disparity between political parties. Eighty-four percent of Republican respondents said immigration was a critical threat compared to 20% of Democrats. Conversely, 85% of Democrats said the same about climate change compared to 21% of Republicans.
More than 40 percent of Americans support banning TikTok: poll
Forty-one percent of Americans in a new poll say they support the federal government banning the video-sharing app TikTok as the platform comes under congressional scrutiny over user safety and data security concerns.
A new Washington Post poll found just 25 percent of Americans say they oppose a potential TikTok ban, while 34 percent say they’re unsure.
People who have used TikTok in the last month and daily TikTok users were less likely to support a ban, at 21 percent and 17 percent, respectively.
Nearly three-quarters of respondents (71 percent) said they’re concerned that TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is based in China, a fact that’s spurred U.S. lawmakers to scrutinize the popular app over concerns that the government in Beijing could gain access to American user data.
That group includes 36 percent who said they’re “very” concerned and 35 percent who said they’re “somewhat” concerned. Nine percent report being “not at all” concerned, and 20 percent say they’re “not too” concerned, according to the poll.
The poll also found 65 percent of Americans think it’s likely TikTok is “collecting personal data on Americans for the Chinese government.” Fifty-six percent think it’s likely the app is “letting the Chinese government control content U.S. users see on TikTok.”
The app has been banned from government phones due to the security concerns, and Congress has been talking about a potential federal ban.
Republicans have criticized the Biden administration for not taking action on the perceived threats. Last week, the Biden administration said it would ban TikTok in the U.S. if ByteDance does not sell its stake to an American company.
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Nearly three-quarters of Americans surveyed think it’s likely TikTok is allowing the spread of false information (73 percent) and causing harm to teens’ mental health (72 percent).
TikTok CEO Shou Chew is set to appear before Congress on Thursday amid the intensifying scrutiny.
Taken March 17-18, the Washington Post poll surveyed 1,027 U.S. adults and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
BY JULIA MUELLER - 03/22/23
(AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)
(AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)
Forty-one percent of Americans in a new poll say they support the federal government banning the video-sharing app TikTok as the platform comes under congressional scrutiny over user safety and data security concerns.
A new Washington Post poll found just 25 percent of Americans say they oppose a potential TikTok ban, while 34 percent say they’re unsure.
People who have used TikTok in the last month and daily TikTok users were less likely to support a ban, at 21 percent and 17 percent, respectively.
Nearly three-quarters of respondents (71 percent) said they’re concerned that TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is based in China, a fact that’s spurred U.S. lawmakers to scrutinize the popular app over concerns that the government in Beijing could gain access to American user data.
That group includes 36 percent who said they’re “very” concerned and 35 percent who said they’re “somewhat” concerned. Nine percent report being “not at all” concerned, and 20 percent say they’re “not too” concerned, according to the poll.
The poll also found 65 percent of Americans think it’s likely TikTok is “collecting personal data on Americans for the Chinese government.” Fifty-six percent think it’s likely the app is “letting the Chinese government control content U.S. users see on TikTok.”
The app has been banned from government phones due to the security concerns, and Congress has been talking about a potential federal ban.
Republicans have criticized the Biden administration for not taking action on the perceived threats. Last week, the Biden administration said it would ban TikTok in the U.S. if ByteDance does not sell its stake to an American company.
At least five dead, more than 80,000 without power amid latest California stormsHouse Intel working group formed to push for surveillance statute’s renewal
Nearly three-quarters of Americans surveyed think it’s likely TikTok is allowing the spread of false information (73 percent) and causing harm to teens’ mental health (72 percent).
TikTok CEO Shou Chew is set to appear before Congress on Thursday amid the intensifying scrutiny.
Taken March 17-18, the Washington Post poll surveyed 1,027 U.S. adults and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
BY TARA D. SONENSHINE,
OPINION CONTRIBUTOR
THE HILL
- 03/22/23
TikTok logo is seen on a cell phone on Oct. 14, 2022, in Boston. The Kentucky Senate passed a measure Friday, Feb. 10, 2023, to ban TikTok from state government-issued devices, reflecting bipartisan concerns about the Chinese-owned social media app. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
In the preface to “Life After the TikTok Ban,” author Donovan Clifton opens by writing, “TikTok is here to stay for most of us here in the United States.” I beg to differ.
The book was written in 2021, which in the world of social media technologies is a lifetime ago. Consider what has happened to this Chinese-made social media platform in just the last few days. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the surveillance of American citizens by ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok.
Reportedly, the investigation centers on whether this Chinese company has been spying on several journalists who cover the technology sector, and an admission by ByteDance that its employees had inappropriately obtained the data of TikTok users.
Congress is preparing to hear from the chief executive officer (CEO) of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, this week.
And already the CEO has made a video appeal to TikTok’s 150 million American users and offered up new content guidelines to prevent “deep-fakes,” election interference and security risks, promising to allay concerns about its AI-powered technology.
In just three years, TikTok surpassed its American rivals, garnering 1 billion users. What began as just a lip-synching platform called Musical.ly grew into a multi-billion-dollar empire.
As Chris Stokel-Walker writes in “TikTok Boom,” “TikTok has mutated into something of a proxy war over the future of this technology we rely on in our everyday lives.”
For proponents of global engagement and cultural diplomacy, as I am, TikTok is an ideal way to share and learn about how others sing, dance and express themselves and their cultures. And competition for Silicon Valley from China is not necessarily a bad thing.
But – and this is a big “but” – there has been little real transparency about the algorithms used for TikTok, and how data is being collected, stored, scraped, used and disseminated. Investigative reporters and authors have tried, unsuccessfully over the years, to answer the question: Does TikTok, a private Chinese company owned by ByteDance, share data with the Chinese government and, if so, to what end?
President Biden, who met with TikTok executives during his presidential campaign, pushed a plan to require TikTok’s Chinese owners to divest from the app. Simply banning TikTok may sound easy, but it hasn’t driven the company out of business despite repeated attempts.
First came the assault on TikTok by former President Trump, who in 2020 went to war against the social media app, in part because of national security concerns about China getting hold of TikTok user data and using it against the United States.
The Senate banned the use of TikTok by federal employees on government devices. Individual U.S. states, many of them led by Republican governors, began to take matters into their own hands.
Gov. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) enacted a ban on TikTok across state government-issued devices, blaming China for “manipulating the American people.” Other states started instituting or considering bans based on data security. Indiana is suing the platform for pushing inappropriate content onto children. And some public colleges are banning the app.
In the summer of 2020, TikTok was banned in India, along with 50 other apps. Despite its massive popularity with over 200 million users, the Indian government declared it essentially illegal. (Interestingly, it was just at a time when India and China were squabbling over border issues.)
Afghanistan, under the Taliban, has also banned TikTok, citing its violation of its strict interpretation of Islamic law. Neighboring Pakistan has had an on-again, off-again, relationship with the social media app with bans imposed and then lifted. Bangladesh banned it. Indonesia banned it and then lifted the bans in another back-and-forth approach.
And then there’s China, where TikTok is not allowed at home but its owners are free to distribute its content abroad, if content managers stay within certain unwritten guidelines such as avoiding a focus on controversial topics like Taiwan or Tibet.
For TikTok to survive, it will have to demonstrate a willingness to do more than just issue vague statements and gloss over details about its data collection. It will have to distance itself from the very country that birthed it and risk alienating the Chinese Communist Party, which views control over the internet as critical to its own security. That is asking a lot.
The rise of China and Chinese tech is now challenging Silicon Valley at a time of rising geopolitical tensions over Taiwan, Chinese balloons flying over America and ongoing tensions over Ukraine and China’s relationship with Russia, not to mention arguments over the origins of COVID-19 and the degree to which China shared information in those early pandemic days.Venezuela’s oil, power and purgesArizona death penalty case will determine whether a private citizen can compel an execution
For Americans, TikTok reaches a major share of young people who could be turned off by politics if the social media app is banned.
In the end, the answer for America might lie in a broad new look at comprehensive legislation to ensure data security and privacy, like what the Europeans have done. Picking off TikTok is a short-term solution, but there will always be another social media clock ticking.
Tara D. Sonenshine is the Edward R. Murrow Professor of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
TikTok logo is seen on a cell phone on Oct. 14, 2022, in Boston. The Kentucky Senate passed a measure Friday, Feb. 10, 2023, to ban TikTok from state government-issued devices, reflecting bipartisan concerns about the Chinese-owned social media app. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
In the preface to “Life After the TikTok Ban,” author Donovan Clifton opens by writing, “TikTok is here to stay for most of us here in the United States.” I beg to differ.
The book was written in 2021, which in the world of social media technologies is a lifetime ago. Consider what has happened to this Chinese-made social media platform in just the last few days. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the surveillance of American citizens by ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok.
Reportedly, the investigation centers on whether this Chinese company has been spying on several journalists who cover the technology sector, and an admission by ByteDance that its employees had inappropriately obtained the data of TikTok users.
Congress is preparing to hear from the chief executive officer (CEO) of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, this week.
And already the CEO has made a video appeal to TikTok’s 150 million American users and offered up new content guidelines to prevent “deep-fakes,” election interference and security risks, promising to allay concerns about its AI-powered technology.
In just three years, TikTok surpassed its American rivals, garnering 1 billion users. What began as just a lip-synching platform called Musical.ly grew into a multi-billion-dollar empire.
As Chris Stokel-Walker writes in “TikTok Boom,” “TikTok has mutated into something of a proxy war over the future of this technology we rely on in our everyday lives.”
For proponents of global engagement and cultural diplomacy, as I am, TikTok is an ideal way to share and learn about how others sing, dance and express themselves and their cultures. And competition for Silicon Valley from China is not necessarily a bad thing.
But – and this is a big “but” – there has been little real transparency about the algorithms used for TikTok, and how data is being collected, stored, scraped, used and disseminated. Investigative reporters and authors have tried, unsuccessfully over the years, to answer the question: Does TikTok, a private Chinese company owned by ByteDance, share data with the Chinese government and, if so, to what end?
President Biden, who met with TikTok executives during his presidential campaign, pushed a plan to require TikTok’s Chinese owners to divest from the app. Simply banning TikTok may sound easy, but it hasn’t driven the company out of business despite repeated attempts.
First came the assault on TikTok by former President Trump, who in 2020 went to war against the social media app, in part because of national security concerns about China getting hold of TikTok user data and using it against the United States.
The Senate banned the use of TikTok by federal employees on government devices. Individual U.S. states, many of them led by Republican governors, began to take matters into their own hands.
Gov. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) enacted a ban on TikTok across state government-issued devices, blaming China for “manipulating the American people.” Other states started instituting or considering bans based on data security. Indiana is suing the platform for pushing inappropriate content onto children. And some public colleges are banning the app.
In the summer of 2020, TikTok was banned in India, along with 50 other apps. Despite its massive popularity with over 200 million users, the Indian government declared it essentially illegal. (Interestingly, it was just at a time when India and China were squabbling over border issues.)
Afghanistan, under the Taliban, has also banned TikTok, citing its violation of its strict interpretation of Islamic law. Neighboring Pakistan has had an on-again, off-again, relationship with the social media app with bans imposed and then lifted. Bangladesh banned it. Indonesia banned it and then lifted the bans in another back-and-forth approach.
And then there’s China, where TikTok is not allowed at home but its owners are free to distribute its content abroad, if content managers stay within certain unwritten guidelines such as avoiding a focus on controversial topics like Taiwan or Tibet.
For TikTok to survive, it will have to demonstrate a willingness to do more than just issue vague statements and gloss over details about its data collection. It will have to distance itself from the very country that birthed it and risk alienating the Chinese Communist Party, which views control over the internet as critical to its own security. That is asking a lot.
The rise of China and Chinese tech is now challenging Silicon Valley at a time of rising geopolitical tensions over Taiwan, Chinese balloons flying over America and ongoing tensions over Ukraine and China’s relationship with Russia, not to mention arguments over the origins of COVID-19 and the degree to which China shared information in those early pandemic days.Venezuela’s oil, power and purgesArizona death penalty case will determine whether a private citizen can compel an execution
For Americans, TikTok reaches a major share of young people who could be turned off by politics if the social media app is banned.
In the end, the answer for America might lie in a broad new look at comprehensive legislation to ensure data security and privacy, like what the Europeans have done. Picking off TikTok is a short-term solution, but there will always be another social media clock ticking.
Tara D. Sonenshine is the Edward R. Murrow Professor of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
