A majority of Americans say tougher government regulations are needed to rein in the power of Facebook and other social media companies, according to a CBS News/YouGov poll released Tuesday.

About 60 percent of voters told pollsters that increased government regulation is necessary for "social media and tech companies" after Facebook admitted that the personal data of 87 million users was gathered without their consent by Cambridge Analytica, the data firm used by the Trump campaign in 2016.

ADVERTISEMENT

Just 39 percent said in the new poll that increased regulation would be a mistake and would hurt American innovation.

Most Americans, eight in ten, were not surprised to learn that outside companies had obtained their data without their consent, according to the poll, but are still concerned about it.

Forty-six percent said they were concerned "a great deal" about Cambridge Analytica and other firms harvesting their personal data, while another 40 percent said they were "concerned some."

Users are also split over the general effects of Facebook. Fifty-three percent of Americans said that Facebook brings together families and friends, but 48 percent also said it "brings them gossip and misleading information." Most users say they do not trust information they read on the platform.

Still, more users said that Facebook overall makes their lives better, not worse, according to CBS.

The CBS News/YouGov survey contacted 1,506 U.S. residents between April 6-9. It carries a margin of error of about 3 percentage points.