If lawmakers approve a bill introduced Monday, California, home to some of the world’s top tech businesses, would become the first U.S. state to mandate mental health warning labels on social media sites. Supporters argue that the law, backed by state Attorney General Rob Bonta, is critical to improving 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 U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on Congress to establish the requirements earlier this year, claiming social media was contributing to mental health crises among young people.
These companies know the harmful effects their products have on our children, and they refuse to take meaningful steps to make them safer,” Bonta said at a news conference Monday. “The deadline is over. It’s time to step up and demand change.
State officials have not offered any information about the law, but Bonta said the warning labels could appear once a week.
According to 2022 Pew Research Center data, 95% of 13- to 17-year-olds use social media platforms, with more than a third using social media “almost constantly.” In November, Australia passed the world’s first law banning minors under 16 from using social media in response to parental concerns.
The promise of social media, however real, has turned into a situation in which they commoditize our children’s attention,” said Speaker Rebecca Bauer-Kahn, who drafted the California bill, on Monday.
“The attention economy is using our children and their well-being to make money for these California companies.”
Todd O’Boyle, vice president of the Chamber of Development, a digital industry advocacy organization, said lawmakers should focus on online safety education and mental health resources instead of labeling the proposals “constitutionally unsound.”
“We strongly suspect that the courts will distinguish them as compelling speech,” O’Boyle told the AP.
Victoria Hincks’ 16-year-old daughter, Alexandra, killed herself four months ago after going down a “black rabbit hole” on social media that glorified eating disorders and self-harm. According to Hinks, the labels will help protect children from firms that ignore the harm social media addiction can do to children’s mental health.
“There is not a bone in my body that doubts that social media played a role in leading him to his final, irreversible decision,” Hincks 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.
Over the past decade, California has emerged as a pioneer in regulating and combating the technology industry with the goal of improving children’s Internet safety.
In 2022, the state became the first to ban online platforms from using users’ personal information in ways that could endanger children. It was one of the states that accused Meta in 2023 and TikTok in October of developing deliberately addictive features to keep children hooked on their services.
Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several bills in September to help reduce the impact of social media on children, including one that prohibits social media platforms from 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 take reasonable efforts to prevent injuries. Son of Elon Musk, owner of X, and Donald Trump Jr., president-electBoth are in favor of the measure. Still, the last federal law focused on protecting children online became law in 2015 19986 years before Facebook was founded.