By Alexander Bolton - 04/26/24

Democrats are bracing for a backlash from young voters over the potential ban of TikTok on U.S. phones, something made more likely by the Chinese government’s opposition to ByteDance selling off one of the most sophisticated algorithms in the world.

It’s a problem for President Biden, who won 60 percent of voters 18 to 29 years old in the 2020 election but has seen his support drop to 45 percent in that key demographic, according to a recent Harvard Youth poll.

An NBC News poll published in November even showed former President Trump leading Biden among voters ages 18-34 nationwide, 46 percent to 42 percent.

Democratic strategists have attributed Biden’s struggles with younger voters to the president’s age — 81 — and dissatisfaction over his handling of the war in Gaza, which has sparked protests on college campuses across the country.

Now a potential TikTok ban could become another headwind. While a ban wouldn’t go into effect before Election Day, TikTok plans to fight it vigorously and has warned its devoted fanbase that the popular app could disappear from their phones.

“A higher percentage of Americans under 30 oppose [the ban,]” said Stephen Weymouth, a professor at the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business.

“Unless the political leaders here are more persuasive in convincing people of the benefits of this possible divestment/ban, I think this is going to be relatively unpopular at a time when the president needs turnout from younger voters,” he added. “This is not likely to help.”

Up to 170 million Americans now use TikTok, and it’s especially popular with younger people.

An Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll published earlier this year found that 73 percent of Americans who use TikTok on a daily basis oppose a ban.

A poll of 1,001 Americans conducted by CNBC last month found that 48 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 34 opposed banning TikTok.

Another poll conducted by ClearPath Strategies, found that 51 percent of Black voters, another important Democratic constituency, said they oppose a ban and view the app favorably.