Momentum grows as state lawmakers & advocates champion bills across the country

ALBANY, NY – Lawmakers and advocates championing social media warning labels joined forces today for a Kids Code Coalition press call during Mental Health Awareness Month to emphasize the need for urgent action to address the youth mental health crisis and to highlight nationwide momentum in support of warning labels. Watch the press call here.

“Just like we put warning labels on cigarettes to make sure that Americans knew that it was causing cancer and hurting their health, we need to do the same thing with social media,” said California Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, author of California’s AB56. “When we work across the country in tandem on protecting children, we are stronger.”

“It’s incumbent upon us as state leaders to step up and do everything possible to protect kids from the worst harms of social media, given the incredible power of this technology,” said New York Senator Andrew Gounardes, author of New York’s S4505. “Policies like my warning labels legislation are basic, commonsense protections that make the internet safer and better for everybody. I think we’re on the precipice of something really big: a generation from now, people are going to look back and say, ‘I can’t believe we ever used these technologies without these basic protections in place.’”

“Requiring warning labels on addictive social media is intended to alert parents and young users to the real documented harms of excessive social media use,” said New York Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, author of New York’s A5346. “We know that we have to step up right now, in this moment, because our kids are paying the price. This is about saving lives.”

“At Common Sense Media, we’re proud to work with legislative champions like California Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan, New York Senator Gounardes and Assemblymember Rozic, and lawmakers across the country to make sure kids and families know the facts about social media use,” said James P. Steyer, Founder and CEO of Common Sense Media. “When we learned alcohol could cause birth defects, we added warning labels for pregnant women. When nicotine was linked to cancer, we labeled every cigarette pack. It’s time we take the same proven approach as a tool to prevent harms from social media —  the latest addictive ‘drug’ keeping kids hooked.”

“For too long, we’ve allowed algorithms to steal our children’s attention and interfere with school time and family time, with zero accountability for these companies for the harms they are causing,” said Julie Scelfo, Founder and Executive Director of Mothers Against Media Addiction (MAMA). “Warning labels are a trusted, effective public health tool with a long track record of raising awareness about risks – especially among young people. Our kids want their lives back. We parents want our kids to have their lives back. And social media warning labels are a big part of how we get there.”

“Hope is not just an emotion. It’s one of the most powerful tools that we have to prevent suicide and save lives. And that’s why we believe warning labels on social media platforms are not just a regulatory tool. They are beacons of hope and a clear signal that we are willing to confront what these platforms have become and fight for what they must be if we want to protect our kids,” said Erich Mische, CEO of SAVE – Suicide Awareness Voices of Education and organizer of the global KiDS: Keep It Digitally Safe Campaign Contest.

“That resource link is not just a line of text, it’s a direct connection to help. For a student who may be silently suffering, that message could be the first sign that someone cares. It might be the push they need to call or text nine eight eight and speak to someone who understands,”
said Ayaan Moledina of Students Engaged in Advancing Texas. “We need to make it easier, not harder for students to find mental health support – and including this contact information in a place that they already visit daily, multiple times a day could truly save lives.”

The Kids Code Coalition is a wide-ranging group of national and state organizations dedicated to improving youth online security and privacy by supporting policies that ensure companies prioritize kids’ and teens’ safety and developmental needs when designing digital platforms and products.

Learn More

• American Psychological Association – Health Advisory on Social Media Use in Adolescence
• American Academy of Pediatrics – Impact of Social Media on Youth
• U.S. Surgeon General – Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health & Call for Social Media Warning Labels

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