Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is calling on Congress to put warning labels on social media platforms, the same as it does with cigarettes and alcohol, to advise parents about the risk to kids’ mental health.  [The Hill]

“The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency — and social media has emerged as an important contributor,” Murthy wrote in an op-ed in The New York Times on Monday. 

 

He said a label would "regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe."

Warning labels are one of the most powerful tools Murthy has available, but they require congressional action.  

Murthy called for legislation from Congress that would “shield young people from online harassment, abuse and exploitation and from exposure to extreme violence and sexual content.”

 

He also said social media companies should share their data with the public and allow independent safety audits. 

 

The nation's top public health official cited several studies, including a 2019 American Medical Association study published in JAMA that found teens who spend three hours a day on social media double their risk of depression.

 

Murthy has regularly warned about the harms social media can have on young people, but his op-ed and call for action represents an escalation.

 

It's unclear if Murthy has broad support among lawmakers. Congress has regularly chastised social media companies but done little to actually hold them accountable.

 

Murthy has received a statement of support from two senators, Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), the authors of the Kids Online Safety Act, which would require platforms to take a range of steps to protect minors on social media.

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