Growing concerns around the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on minors has led multiple states to pass legislation on the matter.

However, one GOP senator recently argued that it is time for federal lawmakers to initiate a crackdown of their own. 

Blackburn seeks federal legislation on AI

According to CNBC, Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn made that case while speaking at the CNBC AI Summit on Wednesday in Nashville.

"The reason the states have stepped in, whether it’s to protect consumers or protect children, is because the federal government has, to date, not been able to pass any federal preemptive legislation," Blackburn insisted.

U.S. federal AI regulation is on the way, Sen. Marsha Blackburn says, regardless of big tech opposition https://t.co/QC021Czx5q

— CNBC (@CNBC) October 15, 2025

"We have to have the states standing in the gap until such time that Congress will say no to the big tech platforms," she continued.

Blackburn indicated that she and other legislators are hearing from "parents who know what is happening to their children and that they can’t un-experience or unsee something that they have been through with these chatbots or in the virtual world or the metaverse."

Senator pushes bipartisan measure

"I have talked to so many people who are now saying kids are not going to get cell phones until they’re 16, and many parents believe that is just like driving a car," she declared.

"They’re not going to allow their kids to have that because we as a society have to put rules and laws in place that protect children and minors," Blackburn pointed out.

Breitbart observed that Blackburn has proposed a piece of bipartisan legislation with Connecticut Democrat Sen. Richard Blumenthal called the "Kids Online Safety Act."

The bill requires social media platforms to provide minors with options to protect their information, gives greater power to parents, and requires companies to mitigate specific dangers for underage users.

"We have to have a way to protect our information"

In addition to concerns surrounding minors, the Capitol Hill Republican also pointed to hazards posed by the collection of personal data.

"One of the things we’ve heard from so many people involved in this is that you have to have an online consumer privacy protection bill so that people have the ability to set those firewalls and protect the virtual you, as I call it," she remarked.

"We have to have a way to protect our information in the virtual spaces just as we do in the physical space," Blackburn asserted.