Earlier this week, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for a mandate to include a warning label on social media platforms to protect the mental health of adolescents.
Murthy expressed his opinions by sharing: “It is time to require a surgeon general’s warning label on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents. A surgeon general’s warning label, which requires congressional action, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe.”
Murthy outlined the dangers of social media one year ago.
He goes on to say, “Why is it that we have failed to respond to the harms of social media when they are no less urgent or widespread than those posed by unsafe cars, planes or food? These harms are not a failure of willpower and parenting; they are the consequence of unleashing powerful technology without adequate safety measures, transparency or accountability.”
Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas responded to Murthy by referencing that his bipartisan legislation, the Kids Off Social Media Act, is precisely what’s needed to protect America’s youth from the dangers of social media. One of the aims of his legislation is to prohibit social media companies from allowing children younger than 13 to open an account.
Significantly, the call for a warning label on social media platforms has garnered bipartisan support. Democratic Representative Mark DeSaulnier of California, a long-time mental health advocate, expressed his backing for Murthy’s proposal. “I stand with @Surgeon_General’s in recommending that social media platforms, which negatively impact teens’ mental health, be given a warning label, much like we’ve done for other public health threats like tobacco and alcohol,” he stated.
