New York prepares to force platform. Addicted impact warning.

New York Prepares to Force Social Media Platform Addicted Warning Impact on Mental Health, Young Users

New York State prepares new legislation, requiring social media platforms to display warnings about potential harm to the mental health of users, especially juvenile groups, after Governor Kathy Hochul officially announced the measure on Friday, according to Reuters on December 26.

This law will cover feature platforms perceived to promote persistent or addictive use, such as infinite scroll, autoplay, as well as content feeds selected by algorithmic systems, which can affect the mental health of young users in the long run.

Kathy Hochul stated in a statement that protecting the safety of New Yorkers has been one of the important tasks since she took office, and protecting children and youth from the potential dangers of social media features is part of that responsibility, specifically features designed to encourage users to stay on the platform for unduly long periods of time.

New York law states that platforms that network "addictive feeds," automated play, or infinite content scrolling must clearly display signs or warning messages about mental health risks. This law applies to all or part of the actions taken within New York State, but does not cover cases where users access the platform from outside the state.

Under that law, the New York State Attorney General would have the power to bring legal action against a contravening platform operator and could impose civil fines of up to US $5,000 or THB 155,000 per violation.

Hochul compared warning labelling on social media to warnings on other products that have long been accepted by society, such as warning labels on tobacco products that indicate the risk of cancer, or warnings on plastic packaging that inform of asphyxiation hazards for young children, seeing these warnings as providing consumers with the necessary information to make a prudent decision.

A spokesman for major platforms such as Tikka, Snap, Meta Platforms and Alphabet, Google's parent company, has not immediately commented on the press's request, according to the report.

The issue of social media's impact on children's and youth mental health is gaining more attention on a global scale, with in the United States several school districts filing lawsuits against Meta Platforms and other social media companies over allegations that these platforms aggravate youth mental health issues.

Earlier, in 2023, the US Surgeon General issued a recommendation on measures to protect children from the effects of social media and later called for warning labels to be placed on online platforms in the same way that New York State is now going to enforce.

New York is one of several areas that have begun to implement more stringent social media control measures. Australia has previously banned children under the age of 16 from using social media, while other U.S. states, such as California and Minnesota, have also enacted similar laws.

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