Americans are ready to hit Facebook with new regulations, according to a HarrisX poll taken in the days after Mark Zuckerberg’s congressional testimony. Using a nationally representative sample, the survey found 84% of Americans believe “technology companies should be legally responsible for the content they carry,” 83% said we need “tougher regulations and penalties for breaches of data privacy,” and 53% said tech companies should be regulated the way big banks are. Pro-regulatory sentiment is strongest among baby-boomers, but still relatively strong among GenXers and Millennials.

Not surprisingly, Facebook took the brunt of the public’s wrath, with 49% saying it should be “heavily regulated” and another 39% saying it should be “lightly regulated.” There was less sentiment for heavily regulating Google (34%) even though, as the Wall Street Journal reported this weekend, Google is collecting more data on most people than Facebook is. And there was even less zeal for heavily regulating Apple, Amazon and Microsoft (29%, 27%, and 26%, respectively.) ...

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