(CNN) — Half of Americans support a US government ban on TikTok, while 22 percent oppose the idea and more than a quarter are unsure, according to a Pew Research Center survey released Friday.

The survey results — collected in the days before and after TikTok CEO Shou Chew testified before Congress on March 23 — highlight the company's challenges in persuading the public TikTok does not pose a national security risk.

But it also underscores that significant portions of the country, 28 percent of Americans, remain uncertain about a ban on TikTok, suggesting they do not have firm views on the matter.

Opposition to banning TikTok is significantly higher among younger Americans (46 percent of respondents aged 18-29) than among older ones (15 percent of those aged 50-64 and just 4 percent of those 65 or older oppose it) and among those that use TikTok (56 percent opposed) versus those who do not (11 percent opposed).

Some 19 percent of TikTok users did express support for a US government ban, however.

Those who know of TikTok's connections to China are more than twice as likely to support a US government ban than those who are not aware of the link (60 percent vs. 27 percent), according to the survey.

The survey found, however, that most Americans — nearly two-thirds (64 percent) — are aware of TikTok's China connection.

There is a partisan gap as well, with 60 percent of Republicans or those who lean Republican in favor of banning TikTok, Pew found, compared to 43 percent of Democrats or those who lean Democratic.

The findings are largely consistent with a Washington Post poll conducted in mid-March, and a CBS News-YouGov poll done in the days leading up to Chew's testimony.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.