About 72% of U.S. internet users do not trust Facebook to "responsibly handle" their personal information or data, according to a Washington Post/Schar-School poll of 1,058 respondents conducted November 4-22 with a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
TikTok was the second-least trusted app, with 63% of respondents saying they don't trust the video-sharing app and Instagram right behind it at 60%. Only small majorities distrusted Whatsapp and YouTube, at 53% each.
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Google, Apple, and Microsoft's trust ratings were varied, with the three companies receiving trust and distrust scores in the lower 40s. The most trusted company was Amazon, at 53%.
Respondents also believed their devices were listening in on them without authorization, with about 7 in 10 surveyed saying their devices are listening to them "very often" or "somewhat often."
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Social media companies have suffered from overall reduced credibility in recent months in the United States. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has been at the center of debate due to the circulated Facebook Papers and whistleblower Frances Haugen's testimony, which alleged the company targeted teenage girls without respect to their mental health.
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The poll comes as lawmakers in Congress weigh proposals to regulate the tech giants, including on privacy issues. Sixty-four percent of respondents said the government should “do more” to regulate how internet companies handle privacy issues.
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The social media companies, along with contenders, such as Twitter, have also received backlash for claimed measures to suppress Conservative voices, which they deny. Those on the Right have since created alternative networking sites, including GETTR and Parler.
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TikTok has received scrutiny over its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, and the potential security risks that may arise from its affiliations with China.
Earlier this year, Apple made a significant change in a software update requiring apps to ask users before tracking their data across outside apps. The update was criticized by Facebook, which brings in a large amount of its revenue from targeted ads, but the Post's survey found that the majority of Americans find targeted ads “invasive” and “annoying” rather than “helpful.”
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Seventy-nine percent of respondents said that tech companies do not provide enough control over how information about user activities is tracked and used.
The poll surveyed 1,222 adults including 1,058 internet users. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points.
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