SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — If lawmakers approve a bill proposed Monday, California, which is home to some of the biggest internet companies in the world, would become the first state in the United States to mandate health warning labels on social media platforms.
Supporters claim that the state attorney general Rob Bonta’s proposal is essential to improving children’s internet safety, but business leaders promise to challenge the bill and others like it under the First Amendment. After U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy urged Congress to enact the requirements earlier this year, claiming that social media is a contributing factor in the youth mental health crisis, Bonta and dozens of other attorneys general quickly garnered bipartisan support for warning labels for social media.
At a press conference on Monday, Bonta stated that these corporations are aware of the negative effects their goods may have on our kids, yet they are refusing to take significant action to make them safer. The allotted time has passed. We need to take action and demand change now.
Although state representatives have not yet released specifics on the law, Bonta stated that the warning labels might appear once every seven days.
According to Pew Research Center data from 2022, up to 95% of youths between the ages of 13 and 17 report using social media, and over a third say they use social media very regularly. In November, Australia passed the world’s first law preventing minors under 16 from using social media due to parental concerns.
FILE – Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-Orinda, speaks during the Assembly session in Sacramento, Calif., on Monday, May 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
Pictured by Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press
Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, the author of the California measure, stated on Monday that social media’s genuine promise has devolved into a situation where they are using our kids’ attention as a commodity. These California businesses are profiting from the attention economy by exploiting our children and their welfare.
Todd O. Boyle, a vice president of the IT industry policy group Chamber of Progress, stated that lawmakers should instead concentrate on mental health resources and internet safety education rather than warning label measures that are unconstitutional.
O Boyle said The Associated Press, “We have a strong suspicion that the courts will set them aside as compelled speech.”
Alexandra, the 16-year-old daughter of Victoria Hinks, committed suicide four months ago after being taken down dark rabbit holes on social media that glorified self-harm and eating disorders. Hinks stated that the labels would aid in shielding kids from businesses who ignore the damage that social media addiction causes to kids’ mental health.
“I have no doubts whatsoever that social media contributed to her making that ultimate, irrevocable choice,” Hinks stated. This might be your tale.
The bill’s sponsor, Common Sense Media, stated that it intends to advocate for such legislation in other states.
In order to improve children’s online safety, California has taken the lead in regulating and combating the tech sector during the last ten years.
In 2022, the state was the first to forbid internet companies from utilizing users’ personal data in ways that could endanger children. It was among the states that filed lawsuits against TikTok in October and Meta in 2023 for purposefully creating features that are so addicting that they keep children on their sites.
In an effort to lessen the negative effects of social media on kids, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom signed a number of bills in September. These included one that would limit or outright forbid students from using smartphones on school property and another that would forbid social media companies from purposefully giving children access to addictive feeds without parental permission.
Legislation to require businesses to take reasonable precautions to prevent injury is being developed, and federal politicians have held hearings on child online safety. Elon Musk, the owner of X, and Donald Trump Jr., the son of the president-elect, support the measure. However, the final federal law protecting children online was passed in 1998, six years prior to the establishment of Facebook.
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