Following Social Media Safety Precautions in New York

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — New York Attorney General Letitia James wants Congress to put warning labels on social media platforms. She is backing Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s call for warning labels, like those on cigarettes or alcohol, that James says would remind users that these digital platforms are harmful to mental health.

That’s why she led a coalition of 42 U.S. attorneys general in a letter to Congress on Sept. 10, calling for the federal government to step in where the tech industry has failed to protect younger users. They said warning labels would raise awareness of the threats posed by social media, while calling for more protections, oversight and investigations, citing the recent Senate passage of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).

“Young people across our country are struggling, and these addictive social media algorithms are only making this mental health crisis worse,” James said in a written statement announcing the coalition’s letter, which you can read at the bottom of this story. “The Surgeon General’s recommendation is a strong first step in that direction, and I hope warning labels are quickly implemented to raise awareness about this issue.”

In 2023, Dr. Murthy issued a warning to digital companies, policymakers, and parents that spending more than three hours a day on social media doubles the risk of depression and anxiety. And nearly half of teens say social media makes them feel worse about their bodies. Murthy reported that teens spend about 3.5 hours a day on these platforms. He highlighted data showing that 95% of Americans ages 13 to 17 use social media, with about two-thirds using it daily and another third logged on at all times.

While experts don’t fully understand all aspects of mental health, the Surgeon General has called for a concerted effort to make social media less dangerous. In June 2024, he specifically proposed warning labels, which would be subject to new federal legislation. “Evidence from tobacco studies shows that warning labels can raise awareness and change behavior,” Murthy said.

New York City has declared a public health hazard on social media due to its perceived negative effects. In January 2024, Mayor Eric Adams announced the designation as part of a plan to reverse a widespread mental health crisis among young people. He blamed the addictive features of TikTok, YouTube and Facebook for endangering the well-being of students online.

“Just as the Surgeon General did with tobacco and guns, we are treating social media as another public health hazard, and that has to stop,” Adams said as part of his State of the City address. “We have to make sure that tech companies are held accountable for their products.” Within weeks, he was citing the growing levels of anxiety, hopelessness and suicide attempts among young New Yorkers when he announced a lawsuit against Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube.

And New York is among the states that have passed laws to crack down on social media after Gov. Kathy Hochul cracked down on social media algorithms. “Young people across the country are facing a mental health crisis fueled by addictive social media feeds,” she said in June 2024. The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act limits how feeds are treated for users under 18, while the New York Child Data Protection Act restricts how data brokers deal with minors.

At the federal level, KOSA would, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who represents New York and was directly addressed in the coalition’s letter:

• Make sure platforms offer young people the opportunity to opt out of content algorithms
• Give parents control over their children’s data
• Requires methods to report harmful behavior
• Limit content that promotes self-harm, eating disorders, substance abuse, and sexual exploitation
• Requires audits into the impact of social media on the mental health of minors
• Support research into the impact of social media on young people

The Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) would update a 1998 law by:

• Blocking the collection of data from persons under the age of 17 without consent
• Banning advertising aimed at children or teenagers
• Need a “delete button” for easy data deletion
• Extending the requirements to any platform a young person is ‘reasonably likely’ to use

Over the past few months, Schumer has been fighting to get both bills passed in the Senate.

The U.S. government has also sought to address specific concerns about TikTok’s ties to China. Pres. Joe Biden signed a bill, co-sponsored by New York Rep. Mike Lawler, that targets the app’s operations in the U.S. The bill, part of a foreign aid package for Israel and Ukraine, would require TikTok’s foreign-controlled parent company, ByteDance, to sell its U.S. assets within 270 days or be banned from internet app stores.

TikTok is set to be delisted in January 2025, though Biden could extend the deadline by 90 days if he acknowledges progress or negotiations. If ByteDance is left unchecked, China could influence U.S. elections by manipulating opinions on gun control, abortion and religion, the Justice Department has said.

TikTok fought the case in court, challenging the law that requires ByteDance to sell or risk a ban, arguing that the government based its complaints on vibes rather than evidence. The platform said it stores user data on U.S. servers, not in China, that it makes decisions about U.S. users in the U.S., and that the law violates its users’ First Amendment rights.

The courts will decide whether China’s national security concerns should outweigh the free speech rights of American TikTokers, or whether the U.S. government has unfairly targeted the app. Either way, popular support for such a ban is waning, according to the Pew Research Center.

About a third of U.S. adults (32%) support a government ban on TikTok, down from 38% in fall 2023 and 50% in spring 2023. Pew also asked Americans whether they think the ban will ultimately go ahead; half think it’s unlikely and 37% think it’s likely. And a survey by a public relations firm found that about 70% of New Yorkers with TikTok use it to pursue healthy goals like mindfulness, productivity, nutrition and fitness.

Meanwhile, the focus on warning labels for kids could obscure problems like data collection or addiction that affect social media users of all ages. Protecting digital users may require more stringent regulation of searches and algorithms, stronger privacy laws, or even breaking up tech companies altogether.

The attorneys general who signed the letter were from the following states and territories:

Take a look at the letter below: