Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new law on Monday requiring social media platforms to display health warning labels to users under 18. This makes California the latest state to implement such measures, originally designed to curb tobacco addiction, as a digital safety feature.
The law, known as AB 56, is part of a national effort to address the potential health risks of social media, which have been linked to increased anxiety, body dysmorphia, and sleep disruption in children. Governor Newsom cited “truly horrific and tragic examples of young people harmed by unregulated tech” as a factor in his decision to approve the law, alongside other online safety policies like digital age-checks and controls on artificial intelligence chatbots.
According to Politico, the law mandates that platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok display a skippable 10-second warning when a child logs on each day, and an unskippable 30-second warning if they spend more than three hours on the site. These warnings must state that social media “can have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.”
The law has sparked criticism from industry trade groups representing tech giants like Google, Meta, and Amazon, who argue that the warnings restrict kids’ access to online speech and force platforms to make controversial claims about the technology’s health impacts. Nevertheless, Attorney General Rob Bonta stated, “California makes clear that we will not sit and wait for companies to decide to prioritize children’s well-being over their profits.”
California’s move follows Minnesota, which became the first state to pass a similar law in July. The law is expected to face legal challenges from the tech industry.
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