8 in 10 Say Companies
Like Facebook or Google should Ensure Information on Their Sites is Accurate
More
than half say large tech companies making society worse
Toronto, October 4th– In a random sampling of
public opinion taken by The Forum Poll™ among 1853 Canadian voters, more than half (BTM2: 56%)
say large technology companies like Facebook, Google, or others are making
society worse, with one-fifth (22%) saying they're making it much worse.
A third (TOP2: 33%) say they're making society
better, but only 1 in 10 (9%) say they're making it much better.
1 in 10 (11%) say they don't know.
Almost
two-thirds support stronger laws for large tech companies
6
in 10 (TOP2: 61%) say they would approve if the laws that governed large
technology companies operating in Canada were made stronger, with a third (31%)
saying they would approve strongly.
Only one-fifth (BTM2: 20%) say that they would
disapprove, with about 1 in 10 (10%) saying they would disapprove strongly.
One-fifth (19%) say they don't know.
8 in 10 say large tech companies should
be responsible for ensuring the information distributed on their sites is
accurate and not fake news
8 in 10 (TOP2: 81%) say large technology
companies should be responsible for ensuring the information distributed on
their sites is accurate and not fake news, with almost two-thirds (60%) saying
they agree strongly.
One-sixth (BTM2: 14%) say they disagree, with 1
in 10 (9%) saying they disagree strongly.
About 1 in 20 (5%) say they don't know.
8 in 10 say large tech companies have an
ethical duty to ensure their products do not cause harm
8 in 10 Canadians (TOP2: 83%) agree that large
technology companies like Facebook, Amazon, or Google, have an ethical duty to
ensure that their products are not causing harm, with almost two-thirds (61%)
saying that they agree strongly.
Only 1 in 10 (BTM2: 11%) say they disagree, with
about 1 in 20 (6%) saying they disagree strongly.
About 1 in 20 (6%) say they do not know.
8 in 10 agree that large technology companies
based outside of Canada should be charged taxes on their Canadian ads
8 in 10 (TOP2: 79%) agree that large technology
companies that are based outside of Canada should be charged taxes on ad sales
displayed within Canada, with more than half (58%) saying they agree strongly.
Only 1 in 10 (BOT2: 11%) say they disagree, with
about 1 in 20 (6%) saying they disagree strongly.
About 1 in 10 say they don't know (10%).
“We're living in an
age of rapid technological advancement, obviously. But Canadians are starting
to see the societal impact of large technology companies negatively,” said Dr.
Lorne Bozinoff, President of Forum Research. “Canadians are also feeling as
though large technology companies like Google or Facebook need to assume more
responsibility for what's being posted on their platforms: whether it's to
ensure that information is not fake news,
or that their products aren't causing harm."
