Three in five Americans favour stronger oversight of social media companies: Reuters/Ipsos poll

WASHINGTON - A bipartisan majority of Americans support more government rules for how social media companies conduct business, including a requirement of age-verification tools to keep younger children off social media, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The poll, which was conducted over the six days ending Aug 3, comes as companies like Meta Platforms and Google’s YouTube face mounting legal pressure over their treatment of young users.

A trial is expected to begin on Aug 12 over allegations by state prosecutors that Meta designed its products to addict young users.

Meta, which denies the allegations, says it could face up to US$1.4 trillion (S$1.79 trillion) in penalties if the states prevail.

A New Mexico state court on Aug 6 separately ordered Meta to pay US$567 million into a teen mental health fund and change how its platforms function for young users, after finding the company is to blame for harming children’s wellbeing.

Tech companies are also under increasing scrutiny by lawmakers across the US for their effect on youth.

More than a dozen states have passed laws regulating minors’ social media access, saying it is needed to bolster their safety online.

NetChoice, a trade group backed by social media giants such as Meta, TikTok and Snap, has sued to stop laws requiring apps verify the ages of their users. It argues such laws violate free speech protections.

Some 61 per cent of poll respondents - including 71 per cent of Democrats and 62 per cent of Republicans - said social media companies need firmer oversight.

Support among independents was lower as many of them said they were unsure where they stood.

The poll also found 66 per cent support laws that would require social media companies use age-verification tools to keep children under age 16 from accessing their platforms.

Support was highest among Republicans, with 74 per cent backing the idea, compared to 69 per cent of Democrats.

‘Somebody’s got to do it’

James Bosserdet, a 60-year-old mechanical engineer from Tennessee who voted for Republican President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, said he mostly wants the US government to have a smaller role in Americans’ lives, but that cracking down on social media companies is an exception.

“Somebody’s got to do it,” he said, referring to setting restrictions on social media for kids. “Is it the government’s job? I don’t want it to be. I think maybe it should be.”

The US Congress has so far not passed legislation aimed at protecting kids on social media.

An overwhelming majority of Americans - 85 per cent - think social media can be addictive for children, and a similar share think its use can be harmful for their mental health, the Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

Washington DC resident Christopher Chen, 34, said he thinks social media companies have an outsized influence on teens, adding that the tech firms have too much control over what their users see on their apps.

“I don’t know what the regulation looks like, but something needs to be done by the government to protect the people,” said Chen, who voted for Trump’s 2024 Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris.

Paula Dick, 73, said social media companies could do a better job keeping kids away from inappropriate content, adding that there should be more government oversight of the apps they use.

Dick said she doesn’t allow her grandchildren to use YouTube when she watches them, but they have found ways to access it anyway.

Dick, who lives in Kansas, voted for Trump in 2024.

“They have workarounds to get around blocks that their parents have put on their phones,” she said. “They’re pretty intelligent when it comes to that.”

Users like social media

But Americans also say they like social media a lot, with 70 per cent saying their time spent on the platforms is fun, while only 35 per cent say it stressed them out.

People are split on whether they are overdoing it, with 52 per cent saying they spend too much time every day on social media, and 43 per cent saying that’s not the case.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was conducted online, surveyed 4,505 US adults and had a margin of error of 2 percentage points in either direction. REUTERS