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Internet Governance
Posted 09/12/2018  |  Articles

Zogby Memo to Interested Parties: Americans supportive of ad-funded tech platforms; believe US regulatory focus should be elsewhere

From: Zogby Analytics

To: Interested Parties

Date: Sept 12, 2018

Subject: Americans supportive of ad-funded tech platforms; believe US regulatory focus should be elsewhere

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From August 6-8, Zogby Analytics conducted an interactive survey of 1,222 adults focused on consumer attitudes toward Internet platforms and government attempts at regulation. The survey, commissioned by NetChoice, has a margin of error of +/- 2.8%.

Key Findings

Americans believe that Internet platforms enable small businesses to expand their reach and to better target consumers.

  • Over half (58%) of consumers and nearly 3 in 4 (73%) of those aged 18-24 have discovered small businesses they had not previously known using social media.
  • 77% say digital ads are valuable for small businesses and 70% say digital advertising platforms are valuable to the national economy
  • 72% say that apps like Google and Facebook enable them to be in better touch with their community.

Americans like their Internet platforms for free and favor an advertising-supported experience.

  • 42% of consumers polled prefer ad-supported Internet platforms that deliver ads based on preferences and less than one in three (29%) prefer ad-supported Internet platforms that deliver the same ads to all
  • Only 16% of adults polled said they would prefer to pay for an ad free environment in order to use an internet platform

 

Americans see little value in government intervention in technology competition matters and believe that consumers still wield the power to determine winners and losers. Americans also believe that anti-competitive focus and enforcement should focus on industries outside of tech.

  • Nearly half of consumers (48%) say government regulations on the Internet are bad for consumers and only 10% think the government should prevent successful online businesses from acquiring other companies
  • In the face of calls to break up large tech companies, nearly 40% of consumers say these breakups would reward traditional industries competing with tech the most. Nearly 30% say they would most benefit anti-business groups.
  • Less than 5% say the government should focus anti-competitive enforcement on tech. Instead, 30% of consumers say that the focus of anti-competitive regulation should be on pharmaceutical companies and nearly 11% say it should be on electricity and gas.
  • Over 2 in 3 consumers (67%) say that they trust tech platforms either somewhat or a great deal, whereas less than half (45%) say they trust pharmaceutical companies.

 

Americans don’t feel locked into their social media platforms and are willing to explore other options.

  • 43% of adults polled say that they have stopped using a social media platform at some point. Of those who have stopped using a social media platform, over half (53%) say they simply didn’t need to use it anymore and 28% said another platform came along that was better.
  • Nearly half (44%) of consumers believe services like Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon can be replaced if a better competitor comes along.

 

For a PDF of this Memo click here.

For full survey results, please visit: www.netchoice.org/techlashpolling