Surgeon General Urges Social Media Warning Labels for Adolescents

On Monday, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy urged for warning labels on social media apps, emphasizing their risks to adolescent well-being

According to Murthy’s op-ed in the New York Times, a warning label alone will not render social media secure for young people. However, it can raise awareness and alter behavior, as evidenced by tobacco studies.

A warning label of this nature would necessitate legislation passed by the U.S. Congress.

Youth advocates and legislators have long accused social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat of having a detrimental impact on children.

These platforms are charged with promoting negative body images, shortening attention spans, and increasing the likelihood of online bullying and predators.
“It is time to require a surgeon general’s warning label on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents,” Murthy wrote on the following day.

TikTok, Snap (SNAP.N), and Meta Platforms (META.O), the owners of Facebook and Instagram, did not respond to requests for comment.

During a hearing on online child safety in January, U.S. senators interrogated the CEOs of those three companies and the CEOs of social media platform X and messaging app Discord.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham accused the leaders of having “blood on your hands” for failing to protect young users from sexual predators.

As a consequence, certain states in the United States have been striving to enact legislation that will protect children from the detrimental effects of social media, including anxiety, melancholy, and other mental illnesses.

This month, legislators in New York state passed legislation that prohibits social media platforms from displaying “addictive” algorithmic content to users under the age of 18 without parental consent.

In March, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that prohibited minors under 14 from using social media platforms and mandated that 14- and 15-year-olds obtain parental consent.