Attorney General Lynn Fitch has shared details of her broad legislative package to protect children’s physical and emotional well-being, affirm parents’ rights to direct their children’s upbringing, and ensure the next generation has the life skills they need to succeed.
“The pathway to Mississippi’s best future is one teeming with strong, healthy Mississippi families,” said Fitch. “This broad package of bills is full of the tools that help families prosper and thrive in all ways, with financial security, physical health, and mental well-being. I am grateful to our partners in the Legislature who are working with us to advance these initiatives, and I look forward to working together to offer Mississippians their best future.”
Fitch’s package includes legislation that would:
Empower the next generation by requiring personal finance classes for middle and high school students;
Preserve opportunities, privacy, and safety for women by codifying the definitions of sex-based words, like woman and man;
Add the use of controlled substances by a pregnant woman to the definition of felony child abuse;
Curb vaping among underage children by making it unlawful to distribute, sell, or offer for sale any electronic nicotine delivery system without FDA approval; and
Protect parents’ fundamental right to direct their child’s education and care without unwarranted government or administrative intrusion.
As part of her ongoing efforts to protect children from the mental and physical dangers posed by social media, Fitch is also proposing legislation that would:
Require age verification before an account may be created;
Limit the collection and use of a minor user’s personal identifying information and prevent digital service providers from selling or disclosing the same;
Prevent digital service providers from using targeted advertising involving harmful material on accounts of known minors;
Require digital service providers to develop and implement strategies to prevent known minors’ exposure to content that promotes or glorifies harmful activity such as suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, harassment, and more; and
Hold social media companies accountable through enforcement mechanisms of the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General’s Office.
In addition to proposing these legislative changes, Fitch has filed a lawsuit against Meta for knowingly and purposefully creating addictive features that harm children’s mental and physical well-being. Learn more about these efforts at AttorneyGeneralLynnFitch.com/BeAware.
Click here to learn more about Fitch’s complete 2024 legislative agenda.
