US Surgeon General calls for warning labels on social media platforms

Vivek H. Murthy, Surgeon General of the United States, called for warning labels to be placed on social media platforms in a June 17 article for . Murthy’s call reflects a broader movement for the federal government to more stringently regulate tech corporations and social media as they concern the mental health of teenage users.

As reported, Murthy’s the argument centers around research This indicates that teenagers who spend loads of time on social media platforms are at an increased risk of tension and depression, which is supported by testimonies from young people themselves who say that social media has negatively impacted their self-image.

As Murthy told the location, “We need… something clear that people can regularly see when they use social media and that, frankly, tells them what we currently know as the establishment of public health and medicine.”

In April, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt said he believed social media corporations harm children, especially teenage girls. Haidt also pointed to what he described as an arbitrary reduction within the digital age of consent from 16 to 13 years. “The way these regulations work in the United States: Congress only did two things, and they were both terrible.”

Haidt continued: “The first one was COPPA, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The question was how old you had to be to submit personal information, and the company could make money from your data without your parents’ knowledge or consent. Representative Ed Markey – now Senator Markey – was the primary author of the bill and, after consultation, stated that he was sixteen years old. Sixteen is the age at which you get your driving license; you’re a little more independent. But various lobbyists have banded together to lower that number to thirteen and there is zero enforcement.”

According to Murthy’s article, Congress plays a key role in protecting children from tech corporations. Children’s online safety advocates reminiscent of Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, warn that Murthy’s warning label proposal will do no good unless reforms are made that affect tech corporations. “It’s a general business model for online media that requires regulation, including antitrust laws, market governance rules, consumer protection policies, privacy laws that really restrict tactics, and public funding of content. Warning labels are an illusory guarantee without serious reform.” Chester wrote on X, formerly often known as Twitter.

But tech corporations are fighting regulation, mainly through the tech industry association NetChoice, whose members include Amazon, Meta and Google. NetChoice is responsible for leading efforts to stop states from controlling tech corporations, in keeping with reports. Carl Szabo, vice chairman and general counsel of the group, said parents should regulate their kid’s use of social media platforms. “Parents and guardians are best placed to meet these unique needs of their children – not the government or technology companies.”

Meanwhile, Murthy concluded his argument for making social media safer for young people by referencing how the federal government has mandated seat belts in response to unsafe vehicles. “Why haven’t we responded to the harm caused by social media when it is no less urgent and widespread than the harm caused by unsafe cars, planes or food? These harms are not due to a lack of willpower and parenting; are the consequence of unleashing powerful technology without adequate security, transparency and accountability measures.”

Murthy concluded: “The moral judgment of any society is how well it protects its children. Students like Tina and mothers like Lori don’t want to be told that change takes time, that the problem is too complicated, or that the status quo is too difficult to change. We have the knowledge, resources and tools to make social media safe for our children. Now is the time to summon the will to act. The well-being of our children is at stake.”