(The Center Square) — Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms with “addictive” design features will be required to post warning labels on their websites for New York users under a proposal awaiting action by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The legislation, which passed the Democratic-controlled state Senate last week and the Assembly on Tuesday with bipartisan support, would require social media apps to display warning labels at the point of access for users. State mental health experts would be tasked with coming up with the wording of the warning labels.
“By requiring clear warning labels, we’re giving families the tools to understand the risks and pushing tech companies to take responsibility for the impact of their design choices,” State Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, D-Queens, said in a statement. “It’s time we prioritize mental health over engagement metrics.”
Common Sense Media Founder and CEO Jim Steyer said New York’s support for social media warning labels “couldn’t have come a moment too soon.” He said with studies showing teens spend nearly five hours a day on social media, “we owe it to families to provide clear, evidence-based information about the consequences of excessive use.”
“When we learned alcohol could cause birth defects, we added warning labels for pregnant women,” Steyer said in a statement. “When nicotine was linked to cancer, we labeled every cigarette pack. It’s time we took the same proven approach to social media — the latest addictive product that has kids hooked.”
Hochul, a Democrat who has vowed to crack down on teen social media use, signed a pair of bills last year banning social media platforms from exposing teenagers to “addictive” algorithmic content without parental consent and prohibiting social platforms from showing suggested posts to people under 18 without parental consent.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the state’s latest proposal is opposed by social media websites, who argue that requiring warning labels on their products would violate constitutionally protected free speech.
Foreshadowing a possible legal challenge, the industry association NetChoice criticized the legislation as “government overreach that violates fundamental constitutional principles while failing to provide meaningful solutions” to the concerns about teens’ mental health.
“While we share the Legislature’s concern for youth mental health, this bill represents a fundamentally flawed approach that violates core constitutional principles while failing to address the underlying issues it purports to solve,” Amy Bos, NetChoice”s director of state and federal affairs, said in recent testimony. “The proposed legislation constitutes an unprecedented expansion of government power that would compel private companies to espouse the state’s preferred messaging, a clear violation of the First Amendment’s protection against compelled speech.”
Social media companies are increasingly being blamed for the rising rates of depression, suicidality and other mental health issues among youth nationally. In response, states and local governments are increasingly considering legislation and legal action to crack down on social media use.
Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy called for warning labels on social media apps last year, saying young people who spend too much time social media increase the risk of anxiety and depression symptoms. A recent Gallup study found at least 51% of American teenagers were using social media apps at least four hours a day.
Lawmakers in Congress have filed the Kids Online Safety Act, a controversial bill intended to protect kids from dangerous content online. However, despite bipartisan support for the restrictions, the measure has failed to gain traction.
If Hochul signs the bill, New York would join a handful of states — including Minnesota, Texas and Colorado — to use social media warning labels as a way to wean youth off the websites and improve mental health. Colorado’s law requires social media sites to display pop-up notifications about social media’s mental health impacts to users under 18 years old.
