Few Americans are confident in tech companies to prevent misuse of their platforms in the 2020 elect
Three-quarters of U.S. adults say technology companies have a responsibility to prevent the misuse of their platforms to influence the 2020 presidential election, but only around a quarter say they are very or somewhat confident in these firms to do so, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted July 27-Aug. 2. The survey comes as Facebook and other major tech companies make efforts 
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Since 2018, majorities in both parties have expressed little confidence in technology companies to prevent misuse of their platforms for election influence.
The share of Republicans who say they have little or no confidence has not changed much since January (78% now vs. 76% then), but the share who say they are not at all confident has risen from 33% to 43% in the same time span. Democrats are now slightly less likely than in January to say they are not too or not at all confident in tech companies to prevent misuse of their platforms (69% now vs. 74% then).
Large majorities of adults in all age groups say tech companies have a responsibility to prevent misuse of their platforms, but older Americans are somewhat more likely to say this. Around eight-in-ten of those ages 65 and older (79%) say this, compared with seven-in-ten among those ages 18 to 29.
Younger adults, in turn, are more likely than their older counterparts to have confidence in tech companies to prevent misuse of their platforms. Nearly a third (32%) of adults under 30 say they are at least somewhat confident in tech companies to prevent misuse, compared with 22% of adults 65 and up.
Black and Hispanic adults are more likely than White adults to be confident in tech companies to prevent misuse. Around four-in-ten Black (38%) and Hispanic (43%) adults have at least some confidence in tech companies to do so, compared with 20% of White adults.
Note: This is an update of a post originally published on Feb. 24, 2020. Here are the questions used for this report, along with responses, and its methodology.
