Poll: American Approval of Big Tech Plummets

American approval of the country’s largest technology companies has plummeted over the last several years, according to a poll released Monday. Silicon Valley’s approval rating has dropped about 21 percent in the last four years

In 2015, Americans widely believed technology companies to have a beneficial impact on the country; however, in recent years, Americans have soured on big technology companies.

Seventy-one percent of Americans approved of technology companies in 2015, now, according to a Pew Research poll, 50 percent of Americans approve of technology companies. This represents a 21 percent drop in approval over the last four years.

Americans’ disapproval over big tech has nearly doubled over the last four years, from 17 to 33 percent.

Republicans have larger disfavor of tech companies compared to Democrats.

Forty-four percent of Republicans believe that technology companies have a positive impact. This represents a 28-point drop from 2015 when 72 percent of GOP voters believed technology companies had a positive impact on the country.

In contrast, 54 percent of Democrats believe that tech companies have a positive impact on the nation. Although, this still represents a significant drop from 2015 when 74 percent of Democrats believed technology companies had a positive approval of technology companies’ impact on the country.

Silicon Valley’s plummeting approval arises as Republicans have criticized big tech’s censorship of conservative and alternative voices on the Internet. A recent Morning Consult survey found that 60 percent of GOP voters believe that big tech has an anti-conservative bias.

Facebook, Google, and Amazon face antitrust probes from the House Judiciary Committee as well as the Department of Justice.

While many Americans have become increasingly critical of big technology companies, New York Times editor Sarah Jeong and many conservative and libertarian organizations continue to fight against technology regulation and antitrust measures against America’s largest technology companies.

Pew surveyed 752 adults about their views on technology companies from July 10-15.

Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.