NEW YORK �� Big Brother is watching you _ or at least people in the U.S. seem to say so when it comes to the technology companies behind social media.
Seventy-two percent of those polled said it's likely that companies such as Facebook and Twitter censor political that they consider objectionable, according to a Pew Research Center study released Thursday.
People don't trust those companies to be impartial when it comes to partisan politics, the study found. The survey assessing the public's attitude toward the technology industry was conducted May 29 to June 11 using a national sample of 4,594 adults.
Republicans, more than their Democratic counterparts, displayed concern over perceived political bias. Eighty-five percent of Republicans and those who called themselves conservative independents said it's likely that social media platforms censor political speech. And 64 percent of Republicans said technology companies support the views of liberals over conservatives.
"Republicans tend to be less trusting and more skeptical of public entities and large institutions, whether it concerns technology companies, the news media or higher education," said Aaron Smith, the author of the study. "This is very much in line with attitudes of conservative Americans that we've seen over the last couple years."
Smith also said Republicans may be influenced by right-wing commentators who have attacked the technology industry for supposedly "putting their hand on the scale" in favor of liberal policies.
The majority of Democrats, 62 percent, said it's likely that social media platforms censor political viewpoints. But only about a quarter of Democrats said the companies support the views of conservatives over liberals.
The study reveals concerns over the tech industry's influence on political dialogue. These fears extend to Washington, where Congress continues to investigate Facebook over how political content and user data were manipulated during the 2016 election campaigns. While Democrats are interested in how that may have played into Russia's interference in the U.S. electoral process, Republicans are focused on how the social media platform is allegedly anti-conservative.
Half of those polled said technology companies should be more regulated than they are now. And despite Republicans' overwhelming belief that the companies are involved in censorship of their views, they are less likely than Democrats to advocate more regulation, the study shows.
Still, most of those polled said tech companies benefit them and, to a lesser degree, Seventy-four percent said tech companies have had a positive impact on their lives, while 65 percent said they've had a positive impact on the nation as a whole.
