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This story is about suicide. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Friday that he will address his state’s part of the national 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 “The Anxious Generation” author Jonathan Haidt to discuss the role of smartphones and social media in harming America’s youth.
BIDEN WARNS OF ‘ULTRA RICH’ OLIGARKY IN BIG TECH DESPITE ACCEPTING DONATIONS FROM MEGA-DONORS
Sarah Huckabee Sanders (AFP Getty)
In Davos, Sanders will also join Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear for a bipartisan session that will discuss state priorities and the role of state governments in a presidential transition as President Biden gives way to President-elect Trump.
On the issue of Big Tech, Sanders told Fox News Digital that protecting children is top of mind for his administration.
“In the last decade, across America, anxiety, depression and suicide among teenagers have skyrocketed, and the culprit is clear: unfettered access to phones and social media,” he said.
“Under my leadership, Arkansas will perform to empower parents and protect children.”
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“I look forward to … Davos talking about this critical issue and how my administration is stepping up to hold Big Tech accountable.”
As for Big Tech’s alleged role in exacerbating the nation’s youth mental health crisis, Sanders noted that he previously launched a phone-free school pilot program by 2024. The program provides schools with state funding for phone bags to prevent use during 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.
As for Big Tech’s responsibility in the mental health crisis, Sanders said that “modern threats…require modern solutions.”
“Nowhere is this truer than with our children,” he said in his State of the State.
“In the last decade, across America, teen suicide rates have tripled, self-harm among girls has increased nearly 200%, and depression among teens has increased 150%. The culprit is clear: unrestricted access to phones and social networks.
He had invited a mother from Centerton, Ark., whose 16-year-old son took his own life after going from an active, sports-loving teenager to one who spent more and more time watching social media videos on your phone
Social media apps are seen on an iPhone screen. (Getty)
The boy’s mother tried to take the phone from him and finally retired to his room, where in 13 minutes he had committed suicide.
“Months later, in pain,” Sanders said, “(the boy’s mother) decided to go through (his) phone. She got on her TikTok, and what she saw shocked her: video after video video giving step-by-step instructions on how to take your life.”
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“We’re going to give moms like her the right to sue Big Tech companies under state law, so they can hold bad actors accountable.”
In a recent Interview in New YorkHaidt – the author appearing with Sanders at 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 being warned about the pitfalls of social networks.
“The technology environment of the ’90s was miraculous. We loved it. The millennial generation grew up with it. Their mental health was fine… And then in 2012 and 2013: Boom. The charts are going strong , way up. Mental health falls off a cliff is incredibly sudden,” Haidt said.
