Pulse: Information freedom valued over control
Most Americans do not want the government to restrict information.
As it turns out, most of us prefer things just as they are. Nearly 6 in 10 Americans, 58 percent, favored protecting information, even if it sometimes leads to false information, according to a Pew Research Center survey released last week.
This is one of those rare areas where there is bipartisan agreement. Resistance to U.S. government action that would restrict false information cuts across demographic groups, includes both Democrats and Republicans, and has strong sentiments among young Americans, the center reports. Americans with more education are more likely to favor free information. The survey found:
- More than 6 in 10 of those with some college education and particularly those with a bachelor’s degree or more prefer to accept the presence of false information online as long as the public’s freedom to access and publish information remains intact.
- Among those with a high school degree or less, however, 50 percent support government restrictions, while 44 percent support free access.
- While Americans don’t like the idea of the government stepping in to limit false information, more show a willingness to allow technology companies to do so. Roughly 56 percent of those surveyed favored technology companies taking steps to restrict false information, “even if it limits the public’s freedom to access and publish information,” the center reported.
The survey reflects the views of 4,734 U.S. adults who are members of Pew Research Center’s nationally representative American Trends Panel.
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