A new poll from the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) on technology, competition, and the economy finds most voters in battleground congressional districts and states take pride in U.S. technology companies, which they see as providing good jobs, leading the world in innovation and e-commerce, and making major contributions to American dynamism.
At the same time, voters have significant concerns about how big tech firms handle data privacy and security, as well as whether they pay their fair share in taxes. They express lower levels of concern about competition in the tech/e-commerce sector, and seem torn over whether the large size of big tech firms is a sign of their success or of undue market power that demands public action.
“In taking the pulse of battleground voters, we found no public groundswell for breaking up or drastically regulating big tech,” said PPI President Will Marshall. “Instead, the pressure to eviscerate America’s most innovative and competitive firms seems to be coming mainly from left- and right-wing ideologues.”
Commissioned by the Progressive Policy Institute and conducted by Expedition Strategies, the poll gauges voter attitudes in 44 battleground House Districts and eight states likely to have competitive Senate races in next year’s midterm elections. This portion of the poll also oversampled in California. Sections of the poll examining the Biden Administration’s Build Back Better plan and voters views on the economy were released earlier this month. Here are a few key takeaways:
A few key takeaways include:
Changing the way tech companies do business is a low economic priority for battleground voters. Asked which economic issues worry them most, only 3% chose “the actions of tech companies.”
When asked which industries provide “good American jobs,” 27% of battleground voters chose manufacturing, followed by 24% who named technology.
When asked to rank their concerns about big tech companies such as Apple, Facebook, Google, and Amazon, voters put privacy and data security first. Among battleground voters, 42% say they are very worried about their “ability to know how companies use your personal data and if they are protecting your privacy” (85% total worried) and 38% say they are very worried about “the security of your data stored in computers, such as financial transactions” (82% total worried).
While they aren’t as concerned about competition and market concentration, many voters do see the big tech companies as monopolies that have too much power.
Two-thirds (66%) of battleground voters say the size of technology companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook is a good thing for U.S. workers and the U.S. economy, while 34% say it is a bad thing.
By a 52-48 margin, more battleground voters say Americans can be proud that U.S. companies lead the world in digital innovation and e-commerce than say they are worried that U.S. tech companies have become too powerful and need to be reined in by Washington.
Voters are more interested in making sure technology companies can compete with China and Europe (65% of battleground voters say this should be a bigger priority) than they are in making sure small American companies can compete (35%).
Battleground voters are evenly divided on concerns about breaking up large American technology companies. Half (50%) say they are more concerned that if we do not break up large technology companies, it will be harmful to American consumers and the economy, while an equal number say they are more concerned that if we do break them up, it might cause them to fail, which would harm American workers and consumers.
Changing the way tech companies do business is a low economic priority for battleground voters. Asked which economic issues worry them most, only 3% choose “the actions of big tech companies.”
When we asked about concrete proposals that Congress or the President could consider regarding large technology companies (proposals that would affect consumers’ everyday relationship with such companies), support for change is much lower. Battleground voters oppose ideas like banning Amazon Prime from offering free shipping (63% strongly oppose, 85% total oppose) or requiring Google to shut down YouTube, Google Maps, and other apps it offers (42% strongly oppose, 73% total oppose).
The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock. Learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org.
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Media Contact: Aaron White – awhite@ppionline.org
