Maxwell Frost comes out against TikTok ban, citing First Amendment concerns

Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) came out against legislation that could ban TikTok on Wednesday, pointing to potential First Amendment issues. 

The House is set to vote Wednesday morning on the bill, which would require TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance to divest from the video-based social media app or face a ban in the U.S.

“I am a NO on the TikTok bill we are about to vote on,” Frost said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

“I believe the bill does set TikTok up to be banned, there are first amendment issues I see with taking away a platform that over 170 million American’s use, and this won’t fix the serious issues we have with data privacy,” he added.

Frost voiced similar concerns Tuesday, arguing that the bill imposes limits on free speech and that the process is being rushed. The legislation was introduced last week and unanimously advanced out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee just two days later.

The Florida Democrat suggested that Congress should instead work on legislation that aims to protect Americans’ data from foreign adversaries and domestic companies.  

“But this kind of surgical approach to a very specific company that’s going to have consequences for people in our country, I don’t think is the way to handle that,” he said. 

Frost, who is the youngest member of Congress, is one of several lawmakers who has a TikTok account.

“I don’t think it’ll be helpful with young voters,” Frost said.