Governor Sanders announces plan to empower parents to sue Big Tech for role in teen mental health crisis
This story is about suicide. If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, contact Suicide and Crisis Services at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Friday that she will address her state’s part in the nation’s youth mental health crisis by planning to give parents the power to sue big tech companies and “hold bad actors accountable.”
Sanders will also address the issue at the World Economic Forum next week in Davos, Switzerland. She will join Author of “The Anxious Generation” Jonathan Haidt will discuss the role of smartphones and social media in harming America’s youth.
BIDEN WARNS OF ‘ULTRA-RICH’ OLIGARCHIES IN BIG TECH DESPITE ACCEPTING DONATIONS FROM MEGADONORS
Sarah Huckabee Sanders (AFP Getty)
In Davos, Sanders will also join Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear in a bipartisan session to discuss state priorities and the role of state governments in the presidential transition — as President Biden makes concessions to President-elect Trump.
On the issue of Big Tech, Sanders told Fox News Digital that protecting children is top of mind for her administration.
“In the past decade, across America, anxiety, depression and suicide among teenagers have skyrocketed, and the culprit is clear: unlimited access to phones and social media,” she said.
“Under my leadership, Arkansas will act empower parents and protect children.”
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“I look forward to … Davos to discuss this critical issue and how my administration is stepping up steps to hold Big Tech accountable.”
As for addressing Big Tech’s alleged role in fueling the nation’s youth mental health crisis, Sanders noted that she previously launched the Phone-Free Schools 2024 pilot program. The program offers schools state funding for phone pouches to prevent use during the school day.
Sanders, whose father, Mike Huckabee, previously served as governor of Arkansas, said she also plans to update the state’s Social Media Security Act.
In terms of holding Big Tech responsible for the mental health crisis, Sanders said that “modern threats … require modern solutions.”
“Nowhere is this more true than with our children,” she said in her State of the State address.
“In the past decade, across America, the suicide rate among teenagers has tripled, self-harm among girls has increased by nearly 200%, and depression among teenagers has increased by 150%. The culprit is clear: unlimited access to phones and social media.”
She called a Centerton, Ark., mother whose 16-year-old son took his own life after he went from being an active, sports-loving teenager to one who spent more and more time watching social media videos on his phone.
Social media apps are seen on the iPhone screen. (Getty)
The boy’s mother tried to take the phone, and he eventually retreated to his room, where he took his own life within 13 minutes.
“Months later, writhing in grief,” Sanders said, “[The boy’s mother] decided to pass [his] phone. She went onto his TikTok and was shocked by what she saw: video after video giving step-by-step instructions on how to take one’s own life.”
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“We will give likes to moms [her] the right to sue big tech companies under state law, so they can hold bad actors accountable.”
In a recent Interview for the New YorkerHaidt – an author who appeared with Sanders in Davos – expressed shock at the difference between the “You’re sitting too close to the TV, your eyes will burn” generation and the new generation that is being warned about the pitfalls of social media.
“The technology environment of the ’90s was amazing. We loved it. The millennial generation grew up on it. Their mental health was good… And then in 2012 and 2013: boom. The charts go way up. Mental health is falling off a cliff , it’s incredibly sudden,” Haidt said.
