Ark. Lt. Gov. Rutledge to Newsmax: We Won’t Let Big Tech Threaten Kids

Arkansas Lt. Gov. Leslie Rutledge told Newsmax Friday that her state is “not standing by and letting Big Tech threaten our children any longer.”

“Under Gov. [Sarah Huckabee] Sanders’ leadership, the state of Arkansas, we filed suit against TikTok and Meta because, under Arkansas’ Deceptive Trade Practices Act, essentially these companies were falsely claiming that they’re going to protect the data when in fact, TikTok is not.” Rutledge said during an appearance on Newsmax’s “National Report.” “One of the things that the lawsuit alleges is that the Chinese Communist Party is going to have access to this data.”

“This is something that we’re very concerned about,” she continued. “This is something that Americans are very concerned about. Under President Trump’s administration, there was an executive order to have a third party, other than the ones at hand, be able to have access to that data to protect Americans’ privacy.”

Rutledge said that Arkansas is “protecting young people” by making sure that the algorithms social media companies are using do not promote sexually explicit material.

“That’s what these three lawsuits are about: protecting Arkansans and using Arkansas deceptive trade practices to hold Big Tech accountable,” she said.

One of the lawsuits alleges that social media platforms have been “deliberately designed to attract and addict youth by … dosing users with dopamine hits.”

The lieutenant governor said that the siren song of electronic devices and social media exerts a powerful pull on people even from a young age.

“As a mom of a four-year-old, I even see my four-year-old and how much she wants to be on our devices, whether it’s an iPad or a smartphone, and you can’t talk to a parent of a teenager who’s not equally frustrated,” Rutledge said.

“You go out to a restaurant, you see families, and particularly young people, who are on their phones, on technology,” she continued. “We have an entire generation of young people who, quite frankly, spend more time on their phones than they do talking to their friends or their family. We’ve seen an increase in serious mental health issues when it comes to teenagers, how they feel about themselves, and the confidence they have in themselves.”

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