Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told Newsmax on Wednesday that her bill aimed at protecting children online contains "nothing about censorship" of tech platforms.
Blackburn first introduced the Kids Online Safety Act along with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., in 2022 after a whistleblower at Meta said the company refused to act on evidence that children were being harmed on its platforms. The bill has since come under scrutiny by digital rights groups concerned about potential censorship and privacy issues.
Blackburn defended the legislation against accusations that it promotes censorship.
"There's nothing about censorship in the bill," she said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "What this it does is to require safety by design from these big tech companies, and it would give parents and kids the toolbox they need to protect themselves.
"Open up these black box algorithms [and] allow them to decide what content they want to see and don't want to see, and don't want to have fed to them, because what we know is many children are led to eating disorders, to suicide, to drug dealers, to pedophiles because of people they're meeting in the virtual space."
Blackburn was also asked if she would agree to join former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign as his running mate, which she said has not been discussed with Trump’s campaign.
"I'm going to do what I can to help President Trump win reelection," Blackburn said. "We've got a country to get back on the right track. But as we all know, I am up for reelection this year, and I am focused on my race."
Asked if she would consider it, Blackburn said: "I haven't had any discussions about this. I'm running for my seat. I want him to choose the person that he thinks is going to help him run the most aggressive race and communicate the message of his history of what he has done for this country. The president that he was, the job that he did on behalf of the American people, to make our country stronger, safer, more productive."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.