(AP) The U.S. Surgeon General is calling on Congress to require social media platforms to include warning labels similar to those currently required on cigarette packs.
In an op-ed in The New York Times on Monday, Dr. Vivek Murthy said social media is contributing to the mental health crisis among young people.
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“It is time to require social media platforms to carry Surgeon General’s warning labels warning that social media poses significant harm to adolescents’ mental health. Surgeon General’s warning labels, requiring Congressional action, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proven safe,” Murthy said. “Evidence from tobacco studies shows that warning labels can raise awareness and change behavior.”
Murthy said using warning labels alone would not make social media safer for young people, but it would be part of a necessary measure.
Social media use is widespread among young people, with up to 95% of 13- to 17-year-olds using social media platforms and more than a third saying they use social media “almost always,” according to 2022 data from the Pew Research Center.
Murthy warned last year that there was not enough evidence to show social media was safe for children and young people. He said then that policymakers needed to address the harms of social media in the same way they regulated car seats, baby formula, medicines and other products used by children.
To comply with federal regulations, social media companies already ban children under the age of 13 from signing up to their platforms, but kids have proven easy to circumvent, with or without parental consent.
Other measures that social platforms have taken to address concerns about children’s mental health are also easily circumvented: TikTok, for example, introduced a default 60-minute time limit for users under the age of 18. But once the limit is reached, minors can simply enter a passcode to continue watching.
Murthy believes the impact of social media on young people should be a more urgent concern.
“Why are we failing to address the harms of social media, which are as urgent and pervasive as those caused by unsafe cars, planes and food? These harms are not the result of failures of willpower or parenting, but the result of unleashing powerful technologies without sufficient safeguards, transparency and accountability,” he wrote.
In January, the CEOs of social media companies including Meta, TikTok and X testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee amid concerns from parents that they aren’t doing enough to protect young people. The executives touted the safety tools already built into their platforms and the work they have done with nonprofits and law enforcement to protect minors.
Mursi said Monday that Congress must implement legislation to protect young people from online harassment, abuse and exploitation, as well as exposure to extreme violence and sexual content.
“The measures should prevent platforms from collecting sensitive data from children and limit the use of features like push notifications, autoplay and infinite scrolling that prey on developing brains and lead to excessive use,” Murthy wrote.
The Surgeon General also recommended requiring companies to share all data on health effects with independent scientists and the public and allowing independent safety audits, which the companies currently do not do.
Murthy said schools and parents should also get involved in instituting no-phone times, and doctors, nurses and other clinicians should guide families on safer behaviours.
