California considers mental health warnings on social media: 3 things to know

California lawmakers introduced legislation to require social media companies to display warnings about potential mental health risks 

California Attorney General Rob Bonta and state Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan introduced legislation to require social media companies to warn users about the risk of poor mental health outcomes for adolescents, according to a Dec. 9 news release.

Here are three things to know: 

  1. Similar legislation was introduced at the federal level in September. 

  2. The legislation follows a call from U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD. In June, Dr. Murthy published an op-ed calling for social media sites to display a label "stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents."

  3. In a letter published earlier in September, 42 state attorneys general urged Congress to mandate a Surgeon General's warning label on algorithm-driven social media platforms. 

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