Surgeon General calls for warning labels on social media platforms

Dr. Vivek Murthy said he would urge Congress to require a warning that social media use can harm teens' mental health.

US Surgeon General , Dr. Vivek Murthy, announced Monday that he will push for a warning label on social media platforms informing parents that using these platforms could harm the mental health of adolescents.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Warning labels — like those that appear on tobacco and alcohol products are one of the most powerful tools available to the nation's top health official, but Dr. Murthy cannot demand them unilaterally; action requires congressional approval.

The proposal builds on several years of increasing warnings from the surgeon general. In a May 2023 advisory, he recommended that parents immediately set limits on phone use and urged Congress to quickly develop health and safety standards for technology platforms.

He also called for tech companies to make changes: share internal data on the health impact of their products; enable independent security audits; and restrict features like push notifications, autoplay, and infinite scrolling, which it says “attack brain development and contribute to overuse.”

In an interview, Dr Murthy said he had been deeply frustrated by the platforms' reluctance to do this.

“I don't think we can relying solely on the hope that the platforms can solve this problem on theirs,” he said. "They turned 20."

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