A new survey indicates that 51% of Canadians support banning the social media app TikTok, following the passage of a US bill in the House of Representatives aiming to do so.

Canada has ordered a national security review of TikTok, which was revealed by the Liberal government after the US bill was passed earlier this month.

Just under a third of respondents, 28 percent, said they would oppose the ban, according to a Leger survey that included 1605 Canadians conducted from March 23 to 25.

Younger Canadians, who are also more likely to use TikTok, are less supportive of the ban than their older counterparts.

Nearly half of those aged 18 to 34 said they use TikTok compared to 12% of survey participants aged over 55.

Christian Bourque, Vice President of Leger, said: "With regard to those who support the ban and those who have specific concerns about TikTok, they are mostly among older Canadians who do not use TikTok."

Among younger Canadians, 42 percent support the ban, compared to 59 percent of those over 55 years old.

Bourque said that messages from the United States by politicians pushing legislation to ban the app could influence opinions in Canada.

He explained that what raises many concerns is that TikTok ownership is outside the United States, specifically in China, and these concerns seem to be flowing into Canada."

It is worth noting that TikTok is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chinese technology company ByteDance Ltd, and the American concern stems from the possibility that the Chinese government may request access to US consumer data for TikTok due to national security laws that oblige companies in China to assist in intelligence gathering.

The bill, which still has to be passed in the US Senate, would ban TikTok unless ByteDance sells its stake in the company.

The Canadian national security review is unrelated to the US bill; it was launched without disclosure in September, and the government indicated that TikTok will be subject to enhanced scrutiny through a new policy on foreign investments in the interactive digital media sector.

In the Leger survey, 56 percent of Canadian respondents said they had heard about national security concerns regarding TikTok from various countries.

Nearly three-quarters of those aware of these reports said they are worried, but most, 56%, have not changed how they use TikTok.

While 21% reduced the amount of time they spend on the app, only 7% completely stopped using TikTok, with Bourque noting that this represents less than one percent of Canadians.