Social media: warning labels.

Assembly Member Bauer-Kahan's Social Media Warning Law would require social media platforms to display prominent health warnings to users at regular intervals during their daily platform engagement. The legislation defines these requirements for platforms that enable users to create profiles and interact with user-generated content.

Under the proposed law, platforms must show a black box warning when users first access the service each day, after three hours of cumulative use, and at least hourly thereafter. The warning, which must remain visible for 90 seconds without the option to bypass it, would occupy 75-100% of the user's screen and display text from the U.S. Surgeon General's 2023 advisory about social media's potential mental health impacts on children and adolescents. The bill specifies that displaying these warnings does not protect platforms from other liability claims except those specifically related to warning requirements.

The legislation cites data indicating that 95% of teenagers use at least one social media platform, with over one-third reporting near-constant usage. The bill's findings reference U.S. Surgeon General reports linking extended social media use to adverse outcomes, including doubled risk of poor mental health when usage exceeds three hours daily. The authors point to evidence from lawsuits revealing internal company documents about platform features designed to maximize engagement, particularly among young users.