Michiganders Highly Critical of Tech CEOs, Believe They Have Too Much Political Power
LANSING – A new PPP/Tech Oversight Project survey of Michigan voters shows near-universal support for lawmakers taking action to tackle Big Tech abuses, and bipartisan agreement that Big Tech companies have too much political power.
“An overwhelming majority of Michiganders – on both sides of the aisle – are crying out for action, and it’s time that elected officials wake up and heed their calls. This issue is a political winner, and politicians would be smart to listen to Michigan voters and take the fight to Big Tech,” said Sacha Haworth, Executive Director of The Tech Oversight Project.
The survey shows almost universal support among Michiganders for action to tackle Big Tech abuses:
- 89% think lawmakers should do more to prevent personal sensitive data from being collected and sold to advertisers.
- 88% support passing a state law to ban surveillance pricing by tech companies.
- 88% support passing a kids online safety law to prevent social media companies from using exploitative algorithms and prohibit addictive features like overnight push notifications for kids.
- 88% support protecting seniors and veterans from online scams, the majority of which originate on Big Tech social media platforms.
“These poll results confirm what we’ve been hearing from parents across Michigan – families want Big Tech held accountable for exploiting our children, and they want it now. The overwhelming bipartisan support shows this isn’t a partisan issue, it’s a parental one. Our kids are being targeted by predatory algorithms designed to addict them and harvest their data for profit,” said Jennifer Tuksal, co-founder of Michigan Parent Alliance for Safe Schools (MIPASS). “Michigan families – Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike – are demanding that our legislators step up and pass legislation to protect children from digital exploitation. We call on leaders from both parties to make child online safety a top priority: when Michigan families are this united, Lansing needs to listen.”
The survey also shows that bipartisan majorities believe that Big Tech has too much political power:
- 83% of Democrats, 66% of Republicans and 81% of Independents said that executives of Big Tech companies like Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon have too much influence over government policy.
The Tech Oversight Project is a nonprofit dedicated to holding Big Tech accountable by passing comprehensive antitrust, privacy protections, and children’s safety legislation.
Margin of error: +/- 4.3%