Sens. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) introduced a bill Tuesday that would require social media platforms to have mental health warning labels.
The legislation — dubbed the Stop the Scroll Act — aims to inform users of the potential mental health risks of social media and provide access to mental health resources, according to a press release.
Under the legislation, popup labels would be developed by the surgeon general and Federal Trade Commission, warning of potential risks. Users would need to dismiss these labels each time they log on.
“Every child deserves the chance to live their own personal American Dream, but our nation’s youth mental health crisis is getting in the way for far too many. With the Stop the Scroll Act, Senator Fetterman and I are following through on the Surgeon General’s call to create a warning label for social media platforms, but we’re going further by requiring the warning label to also point users to mental health resources,” Britt said in the press release.
She was referring to an op-ed by Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy in The New York Times earlier this year in which he called for a warning label on social media platforms.
“The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency — and social media has emerged as an important contributor,” he wrote.
Murthy underscored that young people who spend over three hours daily on social media face increased risk of experiencing anxiety and depression. Teenagers spend about 4.8 hours on social media, a Gallup poll reported, and nearly half of adolescents report feeling bad about their bodies due to social media use.
Earlier this month, the attorneys general of 42 states and U.S. territories called on Congress to pass the legislation proposed by Murthy in his op-ed
“Young people are facing a mental health crisis, which is fueled in large part by social media,” read the letter, which was addressed to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
“As Surgeon General Murthy recognized, this generational harm demands immediate action,” the letter continued. “By mandating a surgeon general’s warning on algorithm-driven social media platforms, Congress can help abate this growing crisis and protect future generations of Americans.”