Bipartisan coalition of attorneys general calls for warning labels for children on social media

The letter to Congress follows a June op-ed by Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy, in which he called on lawmakers to require warning labels on social media that match those on tobacco products.

Murthy explains that the labels would indicate “that social media is associated with significant harm to adolescent mental health.”

The call for warning labels on social media platforms comes amid rising rates of depression and anxiety among teens, as well as the prevalence of bullying and sexual exploitation on the platforms.

Murthy argues that social media platforms do not have the necessary security measures in place to allow children and teenagers to communicate with each other safely.

“There is no seat belt for parents to buckle up, no helmet to buckle up, no guarantee that trusted experts have done the research and said these platforms are safe for our children,” Murthy wrote. “There are just parents and their children trying to figure it out for themselves, versus some of the best product engineers and the most well-funded companies in the world.”

The attorneys general agreed with Murthy’s analysis, saying warning labels “are an important step in reducing the risk of harm to young people.”

“By requiring a warning from the Surgeon General on algorithm-driven social media platforms, Congress can help mitigate this growing crisis and protect future generations of Americans,” the group wrote.

Last year, numerous attorneys general sued Meta, alleging that the company deliberately put profits ahead of the safety and well-being of its users, specifically by creating features that would make younger users even more addicted.

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Congress has already made progress in addressing the mental health crisis fueled by social media platforms. In July, the Senate passed a bill to make tech companies more accountable for taking steps to prevent children from being harmed.

The coalition that signed the letter to Congress includes the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Alabama, American Samoa, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, the Virgin Islands, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.