New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Friday signed into law new rules that will require social media platforms to display mental health warning labels, in a move to address what she called a youth crisis.
“Legislation S4505/A5346, under the chapter amendment, requires social media platforms that offer addictive feeds, auto play or infinite scroll to post warning labels on their platforms,” Hochul said in a statement.
“Keeping New Yorkers safe has been my top priority since taking office, and that includes protecting our kids from the potential harms of social media features that encourage excessive use,” she added.
She noted that several consumer warning labels are already found on different products ranging from cigarettes to food to alcohol.
According to the rules, users should not be able to bypass or click through the mental health warnings.
Popular social media firms include Meta’s (META) Facebook and Instagram, Alphabet’s (GOOGL) YouTube, Snap’s (SNAP) Snapchat, TikTok, Elon Musk’s X, Pinterest (PINS), Microsoft’s (MSFT) LinkedIn, and Reddit (RDDT).