Americans 'evenly split' over need to regulate Facebook and other big tech

A nationwide poll reveals 'jury is still out' on Silicon Valley's big corporations, while a separate survey of Guardian readers reveals the challenge Facebook faces in convincing users it is a force for good

Voters in the US are evenly divided over whether to regulate technology companies like Google, Twitter and Facebook that enable the targeting of users based on their political interests, according to a survey that suggests many Americans remain undecided over whether Silicon Valley is a force for good.

Forty-nine per cent of people said they would support regulating the targeting of news feeds, search engine results or advertising based on political affiliations or viewpoints, while 51% said they would oppose such regulation.