New York to require social media platforms to display mental health warnings

By Jasper Ward

Dec 26 (Reuters) - Social media platforms with infinite scrolling, auto-play and algorithmic feeds will be required to display warning ​labels about their potential harm to young users’ mental health ‌under a new law, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Friday.

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

This month Australia imposed a social media ⁠ban for children under ‌16. New York joins states like California and Minnesota that have similar social media laws.

The New York law includes ‍platforms that offer "addictive feeds," auto play or infinite scroll, according to the legislation. The law applies to conduct occurring partly or wholly in New York but not ​when the platform is accessed by users physically outside the state.

It ‌allows the state's attorney general to bring legal action and seek civil penalties of up $5,000 per violation of the law.

Hochul compared the social media labels to warnings on other products like tobacco, where they communicate the risk of cancer, or plastic packaging, where they warn of the risk ⁠of suffocation for small children.

Spokespeople for TikTok, ​Snap, Meta, and Alphabet did not immediately ​respond to requests for comment.

The effect of social media on children's mental health has become a growing global concern, ‍with U.S. school districts ⁠suing Meta Platforms and other social media companies.

In 2023, the U.S. surgeon general issued an advisory on safeguards for children and later ⁠called for social media warning labels like the one now required in New York.

(Reporting ‌by Jasper Ward in Washington; Additional reporting by Harshita Varghese ‌in Bangalore; Editing by Howard Goller)