New York Governor Hochul signs bill requiring warning labels on ‘addictive’ social media

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill this week that will require social media platforms to display warning labels to young users before they are exposed to features like autoplay and infinite scrolling.

State lawmakers passed the bill – S4505/A5346 – in June, with text calling for mental health warnings on “addictive social media platforms,” ​​which are defined as platforms offering “an addictive feed, push notifications, autoplay, infinite scrolling, and/or similar accounts as a significant part” of their services, although an exception may be made if the Attorney General determines that such features are used for “a valid purpose unrelated to prolonged use of such platform.”

THE announcement of Hochul’s office said these platforms will have to display warnings “when a young user initially uses the predatory feature and periodically thereafter.” These users would not be able to bypass the warnings.

The announcement compares the proposed warning labels to those that have been added on products such as tobacco, alcohol and media with flashing lights. Vivek Murthy, then surgeon general, said last year that social media platforms should add warning labels.

“Keeping New Yorkers safe has been my top priority since taking office, and that includes protecting our children from the potential dangers of social media features that encourage excessive use,” Hochul said in a statement.

One of the bill’s sponsors, Rep. Nily Rozic, made a similar point in a statement of his own: “New York families deserve to be honest about the impact of social media platforms on mental health. By requiring warning labels based on the latest medical research, this law puts public health first and finally gives us the tools we need to make informed decisions.”

California lawmakers have proposed a similar bill.

Last year, New York passed laws require social media platforms to obtain parental consent before showing children “addictive feeds” and before collecting or selling the personal data of users under 18.

This isn’t Hochul’s only end-of-year tech regulation; she too recently signed the RAISE Act, focused on AI security.