If lawmakers accept a bill introduced on Monday, California, home to some of the world’s top technology businesses, will become the first US state to mandate mental health warning labels on social media sites. Supporters argue that the law supported by state Attorney General Rob Bonta is vital to improve children’s online safety, while industry representatives say they will fight it and similar measures under the First Amendment.
Warning labels for social media received immediate bipartisan support from dozens of solicitors general, including Bonta, after US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on Congress to establish the requirements earlier this year, claiming that social media is contributing to the mental health crisis among young people.
These companies know the harmful impact their products can have on our children, and they refuse to take meaningful steps to make them safer,” Bonta said in a news conference on Monday. “The time limit has expired. It’s time to take action and demand change.
State officials have not offered any information about the law, but Bonta has stated that the warning labels may appear once a week.
According to Pew Research Centre data from 2022, up to 95% of children aged 13 to 17 use a social media platform, with more than a third using social media “almost constantly”. In November, Australia passed the world’s first law prohibiting social media use for minors under the age of sixteen in response to parental concerns.
The promise of social media, although real, has resulted in a situation in which they are turning our children’s attention into a commodity,” Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, who draughted the California bill, said on Monday.
“The attention economy is using our children and their well-being to make money for these California companies.”
Lawmakers ought to concentrate on online safety education and mental health resources, rather than labeling proposals as “constitutionally unsound,” according to Todd O’Boyle, vice president of the Chamber of Development, a digital industry advocacy organization.
“We strongly suspect that the courts will set them aside as compelled speech,” O’Boyle told AP.
Victoria Hinks’ 16-year-old daughter, Alexandra, committed suicide four months ago after being “led down dark rabbit holes” on social media that glorified eating disorders and self-harm. According to Hinks, the labels will assist in safeguarding children from firms that ignore the harm that social media addiction causes to children’s mental health.
“There’s not a bone in my body that doubts social media played a role in leading her to that final, irreversible decision,” Hinks told reporters. “This could be your story.”
The bill’s backer, Common Sense Media, said it expects to campaign for similar initiatives in other states.
California has emerged as a pioneer in regulating and combating the technology industry with the goal of improving children’s internet safety throughout the last decade.
In 2022, the state became the first to prohibit online platforms from utilizing users’ personal information in ways that may endanger children. It was one of the states that sued Meta in 2023 and TikTok in October for intentionally developing addictive features to keep children hooked on their services.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, also signed several bills in September to help mitigate the effects of social media on children, including one that prohibits social media platforms from intentionally providing addictive feeds to children without parental consent and another that limits or prohibits students from using smartphones on school grounds.
Federal lawmakers have held hearings on child online safety, and legislation is being developed to require companies to make reasonable efforts to prevent injury. Elon Musk, the owner of X, and Donald Trump Jr., the President-elect’s son, both favor the measure. Still, the last federal law focused on protecting children online became law in 1998, six years before Facebook was founded.
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