Tracking social media safety measures in New York

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — New York State Attorney General Letitia James wants Congress to put warning labels on social media platforms. She supports Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s call for warning labels—like on cigarettes or alcohol—which James said would remind users that these digital platforms damage mental health.

That’s why she co-led a coalition of 42 attorneys general from across the U.S. in writing to Congress on September 10. They want the feds to step in where the tech industry has failed to act to protect younger users. They said that warning labels would raise awareness about the threat of social media while arguing for more protections, oversight, and research, noting the recent Senate approval of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).

“Young people across our country are struggling, and these addictive social media algorithms are only making this mental health crisis worse,” James said in a written statement announcing the coalition’s letter, which you can read at the bottom of this story . “The Surgeon General’s recommendation is a strong first step in that direction, and I hope warning labels will be implemented swiftly to raise more awareness about this issue.”

Back in 2023, Dr. Murthy released an advisory warning digital companies, policymakers, and parents that over three hours a day spent on social media doubles the risks for depression and anxiety. And nearly half of teens say social media makes them feel worse about their bodies. Murthy reported that teens spend about 3.5 hours a day on these platforms. He highlighted data showing that 95% of Americans aged 13 to 17 use social media, with about two-thirds using it daily and another third always logged in.

Although experts don’t fully understand every mental health aspect, the Surgeon General called for a collective effort to make social media less dangerous. In June 2024, he specifically suggested warning labels, which would depend on new federal legislation. “Evidence from tobacco studies show that warning labels can increase awareness and change behavior,” Murthy said.

New York City declared a social media public health hazard over apparent negative effects. In January 2024, Mayor Eric Adams announced the designation as part of a plan to reverse a widespread youth mental health crisis. He blamed the addictive features of TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook for endangering the well-being of students online.

“Just as the surgeon general did with tobacco and guns, we are treating social media like other public health hazards, and it must stop,” Adams said as part of his State of the City address. “We must ensure that tech companies take responsibility for their products.” Within a few weeks, he cited growing rates of anxiety, hopelessness, and attempted suicide among young New Yorkers when announcing a lawsuit against Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube.

And New York counts among several states that passed laws to address social media after Gov. Kathy Hochul took on social media algorithms. “Young people across the nation are facing a mental health crisis fueled by addictive social media feeds,” she said in June 2024. The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act limits how feeds get handled for users under 18, while the New York Child Data Protection Act restricts how data brokers interact with minors.

At the federal level—according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who represents New York and was addressed directly in the coalition letter—KOSA would:

• Make platforms let young people opt out of content algorithms
• Let parents control their children’s data
• Require methods to report harmful behavior
• Limit content promoting self-harm, eating disorders, substance abuse, and sexual exploitation
• Require audits on the social media effect on the mental health of minors
• Support research on the social media impact on youth

The Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) would update a 1998 law by:

• Blocking data collection from anyone under 17 without consent
• Banning advertising that targets kids or teens
• Requiring an “eraser button” for easy data deletion
• Expanding requirements to any platform that a younger person is “reasonably likely” to use

In recent months, Schumer has fought to pass both of these bills in the Senate.

The U.S. government has also tried to address specific concerns about TikTok’s ties to China. Pres. Joe Biden signed a bill—cosponsored by New York Rep. Mike Lawler—targeting the app’s operations in the U.S. Part of a foreign aid package for Israel and Ukraine, the bill requires TikTok’s foreign-controlled parent company, ByteDance, to sell its U.S. assets within 270 days or be banned from internet app stores.

TikTok would be removed in January 2025, though Biden could extend the deadline by 90 days if he recognizes progress or negotiations underway. Left unchecked, the Department of Justice said, ByteDance would let China influence American elections by manipulating opinions about gun control, abortion, and religion.

Fighting the case in court, TikTok challenged the law requiring ByteDance to sell or face a ban, arguing that the government based its gripes on vibes rather than evidence. The platform said that it stores user data on U.S. servers, not in China, that it makes decisions about U.S. users in the U.S., and that the law violates its users’ First Amendment rights.

The courts will decide whether Chinese national security concerns should outweigh the free speech rights of American TikTokers, or if the U.S. government unfairly targeted the app. Either way, popular support for such a ban is fading, according to the Pew Research Center .

About a third of U.S. adults (32%) support a government ban on TikTok, down from 38% in fall 2023 and 50% in spring 2023. Pew also asked Americans if they think the ban will ultimately go through; half think it’s unlikely and 37% think it’s likely. And a survey from a public relations firm found that around 70% of New Yorkers with TikTok use it to pursue wholesome ends like mindfulness, productivity, nutrition, and fitness.

Meanwhile, focusing on warning labels for kids could obscure problems—like data collection or addiction—that affect social media users of all ages. Protecting digital users may require regulating search and algorithms with greater precision, creating more powerful privacy laws, or even breaking tech companies apart altogether.

Attorneys general who signed the letter came from the following states and territories:

• Alabama
• American Samoa
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• The District of Columbia
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Kentucky
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi

• Nevada
• New Jersey
• New Hampshire
• New Mexico
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• The U.S. Virgin Islands
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

Take a look at the letter below:

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