Gen Z Congressman Maxwell Frost, 27, warns Biden could take a hit with young voters by backing a ban on TikTok

Gen Z Congressman Maxwell Frost warns President Joe Biden could take a hit with young voters by backing a ban on TikTok as Congress moves forward with legislation amid privacy concerns over the app's ties to China.

The 27-year-old Florida congressman voted against the bill on Wednesday. The legislation would force the app's Chinese parent company to sell TikTok within 180 days or it would be banned in the United States. 

 'I don't think it will be helpful with young voters,' Frost told CNN. He said his argument is not just about young people, he believes the bill is bad policy.

The House passed the bill with overwhelming bipartisan support on Wednesday 352 to 65.

Frost, who is the youngest member of the House, said he believes the bill is an infringement on Americans' first amendment rights and violates the constitution.

Gen Z Congressman Maxwell Frost said he was a 'hell no' vote on the TikTok bill ahead of a House vote forcing the app's Chinese parent company to divest or face a ban in the U.S.

TikTok advocates gathered outside of the Capitol ahead of Wednesday's vote to push back against the bill

 'We're talking about a platform that allows people to put out information, news, whatever they want to put out,' Frost said ahead of the vote.

He said no matter how one puts it, forcing ByteDance to sell within five months would lead to a ban. 

'It's unreasonable to believe that in 180 days that a buyer would be found and that the deal can move forward, which would result in TikTok being banned, whether it's banned for a year or two years or six months, a ban is a ban,' he said.

TikTok has 170 million users in the United States. Frost said he hears from young people all the time who get their news directly from TikTok.  

'Now I do have to say, am I concerned about Americans' Data? Yes, I am,' he said. 'But this bill does not fix that problem. Let's be honest here.'

Rep. Frost with President Biden at the White House in 2023. Biden said he would sign the TikTok bill should it reach his desk. The congressman said a ban won't help with young voters

Lawmakers accused TikTok of providing its U.S. user data to its Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance, which they say has connections to the Chinese Communist Party. 170 million people in the U.S. use the app

TikTok sent this notification to users last week after the bill was introduced

But supporters of the bill argue it does not ban TikTok but forces it to cut ties with the Chinese Communist Party and access to Americans' personal data.

The bill now heads to the Senate, but Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has not committed to a vote, saying only that the Senate would review it when it comes over from the House.

Biden has said he would sign it should the bill make it to his desk despite his campaign launching the president's own TikTok account last month. 

The White House said it wants to see the Senate 'take quick action' on Wednesday. 

It comes as Biden is already bleeding support among young people ahead of the 2024 election. Some have voiced frustration over the president's support of U.S. funding for Israel. 

Recent polling still shows Biden maintains a lead over Donald Trump among voters 18 to 29, but the support has dropped since Biden was elected in 2020. 

As president, Trump issued an executive order declaring TikTok a threat to national security, foreign policy and the U.S. economy.

But ahead of the House vote, he came out against the TikTok bill. 

Trump argued last week that a ban on TikTok would help Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook. 

In an interview with CNBC Trump also noted there are a lot of young kids on TikTok who 'will go crazy without it.'