Minnesota Voters Overwhelmingly Support Legislation To Protect Children Online

For Immediate Release
Contact: Press@KidsCodeCoalition.org

ST. PAUL – A new Public Policy Polling survey conducted on behalf of the Minnesota Kids Code Coalition finds that 85% of voters in Minnesota believe it’s important for Minnesota lawmakers to take action to address the impact of the internet and social media on young people. Of these voters, 60% believe it is very important, including majorities of all age groups, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents.

Furthermore, a whopping 85% of voters believe it’s important that lawmakers act this year.

Minnesotans also have a generally negative view of social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube, with 59% of them viewing these companies unfavorably, and only 1/3 of them viewing them favorably. Because of these views, voters overwhelmingly (78%) support requiring that social media platforms provide tools and safeguards to better protect children online.

Nearly 60% of these voters disagree with the legislative approach pushed forward by the tech lobby to focus on law enforcement rather than changing the way platforms are designed.

When asked whether they would be more or less likely to support their Minnesota state representative if they prioritized legislation to require tech companies to make their products safer for children, a near majority (47%) said it would make them more likely to support them.

Other key findings from the survey include:

  • Democrats are the most supportive (84%) of requiring social media platforms to provide user protection tools, with 76% of Republicans and 74% of Independents also supportive.
  • Lopsided majorities of Independents (76%), Republicans (86%), and Democrats (92%) want the Minnesota state legislature to take action this year.
  • Majorities of voters in all age groups despise social media companies: 55% of voters aged 18-45, 59% of voters aged 45-65, and 68% of voters older than 65 view them unfavorably.

Public Policy Polling surveyed 640 Minnesota voters from April 11-12, 2024. The margin of error is +/- 3.9%. 65% of interviews for this survey were conducted by text message and 35% by telephone.

###