California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) is finalizing first-in-the-nation legislation for the 2025 session to require warning labels on social media platforms.
Bonta said Thursday at a news conference in San Francisco that he was inspired by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s call in June for a warning similar to what’s found on tobacco products.
“Protecting our children from the mental health harms of our social media platforms has been a top priority for me,” Bonta said. “This is another addition and companion to the work we’ve already done ensuring our children are safe when on social media.”
The San Francisco Chronicle first reported Bonta’s proposal.
Bonta said he is currently suing Meta and TikTok for alleged harms to children. Bonta is also defending in court California’s first-in-the-nation Age-Appropriate Design Code law, which requires online services and platforms that are likely to be used by kids to be designed with their best interests in mind.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed legislation in September that Bonta cosponsored barring addictive feeds for children without a parent’s permission. The same month, Bonta joined a bipartisan coalition of 42 attorneys general who called on Congress to adopt Murthy’s recommendation for a surgeon general’s warning on social media.
“Warning labels on social media are a clear and frank way to communicate the risks that social media engagement poses to young users,” Bonta said at the time.
Murthy has pointed to research that suggests youth who spend more than three hours a day on social media are at higher risk for mental health problems.
Bonta said the label he wants California to mandate would warn users that social media use is associated with “significant harm to the mental health of adolescents.”
“We think that people should know about the potential for mental health harms as they make an informed decision, parents and children, all consumers,” Bonta said Thursday in response to a question.
Bonta’s office told Pluribus News that, as currently envisioned, the warning would appear as a pop-up black box when a user opens a social media app. The purpose of the warning, his office said, would be to increase public awareness about potential harms from social media use.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has criticized the idea of social media warning labels as “misguided and speech-chilling,” and said it amounts to “fear-mongering that lacks scientific evidence.”
The digital rights nonprofit says social media can help adolescents address isolation and anxiety, especially marginalized youth such as LBGTQ teenagers.
This story has been updated to include additional information provided by Attorney General Rob Bonta’s (D) office.