While a slim majority of Americans still want social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to allow unrestricted free speech on their platforms, a solid majority of Democrats want the platforms to regulate content that might offend “some people,” a new survey by Rasmussen Reports finds.
This question was asked in the national survey of 1000 American adults conducted from January 4th to 5th, 2022.
“Which is better – for the owners of social media like Facebook and Twitter to regulate what is posted to make sure some people are not offended or to allow free speech without interference?”
The 51% of Americans today who say the social media platforms should allow “free speech without interference” is down from the 61% who felt that way in January of 2018, Rasmussen notes. Over the same period, those who desire content to be controlled so that it doesn’t offend others have increased from 26% up to 35%. Others are “not sure.”
From 25% in January 2018, to 57% today, Democrats have more than doubled their desire to ban potentially offensive material. Americans who don’t identify themselves as either Republican or Democrat favor freedom of speech by a margin of 54%-26%. With 20% unsure,
The desire for social media censorship to prevent posts from causing upset rises with income. It is now 52% among those who earn more than $200,000 annually, compared to 27% in the case of people earning less than $30,000 per year.
By employment, government workers (44%) are more likely to want platforms to regulate social media posts than are those who either work in other sectors or are retired, the survey finds.
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Editor’s Note:The original publication was on CNSNews.com.
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