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Young people want checks on Big Tech's power

27 January 2021
Dan Ackermann
Data: Generation Lab; Chart: Sara Wise/Axios

The next generation of college-educated Americans thinks social media companies have too much power and influence on politics and need more government regulation, according to a new survey by Generation Lab for Axios.

Why it matters: The findings follow an election dominated by rampant disinformation about voting fraud on social media; companies' fraught efforts to stifle purveyors of disinformation including former President Trump; and a deadly Jan. 6 insurrection over the election organized largely online.

  • These young people also see Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell as the leader of the Republican Party now, not Donald Trump.

By the numbers: A majority of young Democrats (52%) said major tech companies should be regulated more by the government. A plurality of young Republicans (43%) said the same.

  • Clear majorities (96% of Republicans and 70% of Democrats) also agreed that social media companies have too much power and influence in politics.

The big picture: The national survey of 852 two-year and four-year college students, conducted Jan. 22-25, is one of the earliest looks at how young people are reacting to the end of the Trump era, the Biden administration's early days and the related challenges of governance.

Details: So far, this Democratic-leaning cohort is overwhelmingly supportive and optimistic about Biden.

  • A majority (54%) recognize him as the leader of the Democratic Party, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vice President Kamala Harris, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
  • By contrast, Trump's standing as the leader of the GOP slipped in their minds to second place (25%) behind McConnell (36%) but ahead of Sen. Mitt Romney (18%) and former Vice President Mike Pence (17%).
  • 62% of the respondents say Biden should pursue sweeping legislation, even if no Republicans support it.

What they're saying: "Young folks are actually jazzed about Joe Biden," Cyrus Beschloss, CEO of Generation Lab, told Axios. "Now, they expect him to deliver the goods — climate action, bold stimulus, healthcare expansion — even when he can’t bring Republicans along."

The bottom line: Gen Z and young Millennials live and breathe social media and technology and are confident in their own ability to use these platforms and detect misinformation. Yet — with notable bipartisan agreement — they think Big Tech's power must be checked.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.