Should social media come with a recurring popup warning label? California bill would make it so

Your Facebook account could soon come with a recurring warning label, under a proposed law California lawmakers will consider next year.

Assembly Bill 56, by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-Orinda, would require the following “black box” warning label to appear as a popup on social media users’ accounts on a weekly basis: “The Surgeon General has advised that there are ample indicators that social media can have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.”

That requirement would apply to platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and others.

Bauer-Kahan said that companies are conspiring to keep young people hooked online.

“There is a powerful profit motive to keep our young people hooked online and engaged and it is exploiting the human psychology with notifications, likes, endless scrolling and algorithmic amplification that is harming our children every day,” she said at a press conference Monday announcing the bill.

Lawmakers have passed a series of laws aimed at curbing youth social media addiction in recent years, though the tech industry has pushed back hard with both lobbying efforts and legal challenges, and most of those laws are in limbo as the cases are ongoing. It’s unclear whether the wording of AB 56, which is yet to be posted online, would withstand legal scrutiny.

Todd O’Boyle, of the center-left, tech-funded Chamber of Progress, said in a statement that “slapping a warning label on social media is like a broken fire alarm going off with no evidence of smoke.”

“It ignores the reality that most teens view social media as an important outlet for social connection,” said O’Boyle said. “Forcing this kind of label despite a lack of scientific proof will run into the same First Amendment buzzsaw that has doomed previous California kids’ bills.”

The bill is sponsored by California Attorney General Rob Bonta as well as the advocacy group Common Sense Media.

At the press conference, Bonta said that “this is about real children and teenagers, real families, real impacts on real lives.”

Bonta said that social media platforms are “built and designed” to addict children “and they do it well,” that they “purposely prey on the psychological vulnerabilities of young people.”

“Time is up, it’s time we stepped in and demanded change,” Bonta said.

Bauer-Kahan said that children aren’t oblivious to the fact that they’re being addicted to social media.

“But they feel trapped, they feel afraid of being isolated, and they just can’t stop,” she said.

Bauer-Kahan said that black box warning labels helped to reduce smoking rates and she hopes it will due the same for social media usage.

“It will raise public awareness and turn the tide in this public health crisis,” she said.

This story was originally published December 9, 2024 at 11:26 AM.