A new national survey from Internet for Growth delivers a message policymakers can’t ignore: voters see digital tools as the backbone of Main Street survival. According to the report, 94% of voters believe that online advertising, e-commerce, and social media are vital to small business operations. And they’re deeply concerned that new taxes or regulations targeting “Big Tech” could end up strangling small businesses instead.
It’s one of those rare political findings where everyone agrees—87% of voters say rules meant for large tech companies would also hurt small businesses. Even more striking, 78% of Democrats, 75% of Republicans, and 82% of Independents oppose any policy that makes digital tools more expensive or difficult to use. In an election year where few issues unite Americans, digital freedom apparently does.
The New Economy of Visibility
The survey results echo ideas explored in my book, Brands on the Ballot: The Politics of Company and Personal Branding in a Divided Era. The book argues that the digital economy isn’t just reshaping how brands communicate—it’s reshaping how voters think about fairness, access, and opportunity. Hartzer writes, “We don’t buy brands anymore—we join them. We judge them the way we judge candidates, through values, accessibility, and trust.”
That same logic now applies to small businesses. A coffee shop with a Facebook page or an Etsy store has as much at stake in digital policy as a multinational tech firm. As Hartzer explains in Brands on the Ballot, “When lawmakers treat online advertising as a luxury, they miss the real story. For Main Street, visibility is survival.” The Internet for Growth report brings that reality into focus: voters understand this connection better than many of the policymakers who represent them.
Voters Link Regulation to Real Costs
Affordability remains the defining issue. The poll found that 83% of voters believe increased regulation of digital tools would harm small businesses, and 77% say it would hurt consumers. 89% express concern that higher ad costs could force small businesses to cut back or close entirely. These aren’t abstract numbers—they reflect a national anxiety that online visibility is becoming too costly for those who depend on it most.
Brendan Thomas, Executive Director of Internet for Growth, explained, “As election season heats up, voters are focused on affordability—and they know that limits on digital advertising would raise prices and hurt opportunity.” He added that nearly 40% of respondents have either run a small business or would start one by relying on online platforms first. “The findings flip the usual story,” Thomas said. “Voters see digital advertising as an economic equalizer, not a threat.”
How Digital Tools Shape Main Street’s Voice
Today, 90% of voters say nearly every business depends on digital tools like online ads to succeed. 84% say these tools make it easier for small businesses to accept payments, 78% believe they help reach new customers, and 67% call social media indispensable. The digital storefront has replaced the physical Main Street window display. The signs have changed, but the stakes haven’t.
As Drew Ament, owner of Press1toTalk in Phoenix, put it, “For small businesses—from restaurants to auto shops—digital advertising isn’t an extra. It’s the only way we compete. If regulation drives up costs or limits targeting, it’s the local shops that pay first, not Silicon Valley.”
That sentiment mirrors a recurring theme in Brands on the Ballot: the new loyalty loop between voters and local economies. Hartzer writes, “Digital trust has replaced brand loyalty. People want to support businesses that reflect their values—and they do that online first. That’s why regulations that disrupt affordable digital communication aren’t just policy errors—they’re political mistakes.”
Public Opinion Meets Policy Risk
The survey found that 53% of voters would be less likely to vote for a candidate who supports new digital regulations. Only 9% said they’d be more likely. That’s a political liability for both parties, especially in competitive districts. Voters are essentially saying: don’t interfere with the digital lifelines that sustain local economies.
Even when asked about broader tech oversight, voters reject measures that dismantle ad-supported platforms, restrict personalization, or impose digital taxes. 85% say limiting digital ads would reduce access to free online content. And 78% oppose new taxes on digital tools that would make them less accessible to small businesses and consumers alike. It’s rare to see this kind of unity across generational and partisan divides.
The Broader Cultural Shift
Hartzer’s Brands on the Ballot examines the same cultural phenomenon through a wider lens: the blurring of political and commercial identity. “A brand’s stance on digital access, privacy, or speech can now swing public sentiment the same way a campaign position does,” Hartzer writes. “People conflate brand policy with social policy. And that means digital regulation isn’t just about tech—it’s about trust.”
He argues that voters and consumers have merged into a single decision-making body, one that evaluates companies and candidates alike through moral consistency and accessibility. The Internet for Growth data proves that theory in real time: voters are treating digital policy as a proxy for economic fairness and local empowerment.
The Policy Choice Ahead
In a polarized era, few issues unite Americans like this one. Across party lines, 78% of voters reject digital ad taxes and overregulation. 57% favor one consistent federal framework instead of a patchwork of state rules. Whether they’re in rural towns or major cities, voters see digital tools as the connective tissue of modern commerce. Any policy that disrupts that infrastructure risks political blowback and economic fallout.
From an electoral standpoint, this issue may define a new kind of populism—one centered not on ideology, but on access. As Hartzer notes in Brands on the Ballot, “Technology has democratized opportunity, but regulation may reintroduce privilege. Policymakers have a choice: protect access or risk alienating the voters who depend on it.”
The survey from Internet for Growth doesn’t just measure public opinion—it exposes the new political economy of trust. Main Street has gone digital. The tools that power it aren’t partisan—they’re personal. And as Brands on the Ballot makes clear, the next campaign season won’t just be fought on ballots or billboards—it will be fought on screens.