Has social media negatively affected your mental health? Social media platforms might have to display warning labels about potential harms. This idea was first proposed in 2024 by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. Minnesota lawmakers are trying to pass a bill adding warning labels to social media this year.
What Is the Bill?
The bill states that the warning label will appear every time the social media platform is opened. It will only disappear if the platform is exited or if the label is acknowledged. If a user decides to continue, a pop-up timer will appear every 30 minutes. This timer will state how much time has been spent on the platform. According to Minnesota Legislature, the label must “warn the user of potential negative mental health impacts.” It will also provide resources for help, like the National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Hotline.
There have been recent concerns in the U.S. about the effects of social media on adolescents. This warning label could curb the negative effects of social media by making all users aware of the harm. Former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy stated that these labels are needed because “social media is a contributing factor in the mental health crisis among young people.” Minnesota Representative Zack Stephenson, a sponsor of this bill, recently presented it to the House Commerce Finance and Policy Committee.
Sitting alongside Stephenson was Tabbatha Urbanski. She lost her 17 year old son to depression and addiction after he used Snapchat to buy drugs. Urbanski acknowledges how social media played a critical role in her sons depression and death. Rep. Stephenson said that studies have shown the link between social media use and poor mental health. Tabbatha Urbanski’s story is one of many that show why stronger social media protections are needed.
What Issues Does This Bill Raise?
Former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy first proposed this idea in 2024. Since then, there has been opposition. Some have voiced how the label would violate the freedom of speech in the First Amendment. NetChoice, a company dedicated to protecting free enterprise and free expression online, agrees with this. Their deputy director of state and federal affairs, Zach Lilly, also testified to the Minnesota House Commerce Finance and Policy Committee. Social media is a platform where users can speak freely and attempting to regulate it with a warning label could clash with the freedom of speech.
Some do not believe that there is any scientific evidence that social media poses a threat to mental health. This opinion is also shared by NetChoice’s Zach Lilly. “There is no scientific consensus regarding the mental health effects of social media,” said Lilly. Many Minnesota legislators disagreed with Lilly, voicing that there is “plenty of evidence” regarding the negative effects. Vivek Murthy has another outlook, that social media has not been proven safe. While it has not been proven safe, it leaves a large gap of how unsafe it may be.
Who Supports the Bill?
The National Association of Attorneys General composed a letter to congressional leaders. 42 state attorney generals signed the letter in support of Vivek Murthy’s idea. They agree that a warning label would be a step in protecting our children from social media’s addictive algorithm.
“As State Attorneys General, we sometimes disagree about important issues, but all of us share an abiding concern for the safety of the kids in our jurisdictions—and algorithm-driven social media platforms threaten that safety.”
The letter also highlighted other efforts made to hold social media platforms accountable.
New York, Texas, Alabama, and California have also proposed the same bill. There is an increasing consensus that warning labels would be a step in protecting social media users from its negative effects. Would you support these labels?
