California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday signed a landmark law requiring health warning labels on social media platforms, a move that is aimed at positioning the state as proactive on the mental health risks tied to digital technology use among children.
The law, Assembly Bill 56, compels major social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok to display warnings for users under 18. The notices must state that social media “can have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents,” language drawn from a 2023 advisory issued by former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.
Under the new rules, a 10-second skippable warning must appear when a minor logs on each day, while a 30-second unskippable warning will display if a user spends more than three hours on a platform. That longer warning must repeat for every additional hour of use.
Newsom said the measure was driven by “some truly horrific and tragic examples of young people harmed by unregulated tech,” adding that new digital guardrails are essential as the state weighs the impacts of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence chatbots.
“Emerging technology like chatbots and social media can inspire, educate and connect — but without real guardrails, technology can also exploit, mislead and endanger our kids,” Newsom said in a statement. California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom echoed the sentiment, saying “our kids deserve a world that values them more than the technology around them.”
The law is expected to face legal challenges from the tech industry. Trade groups representing Google, Meta, Amazon and others have argued that mandatory warning labels would infringe on constitutional protections by compelling platforms to make contested statements about the health risks of their products and restricting minors’ access to online speech.
California’s move follows growing bipartisan pressure at the federal level for greater oversight of social media. On Tuesday, a coalition of 42 state attorneys general urged Congress to adopt national warning label requirements for social media, calling them “one consequential step toward mitigating the risk of harm to youth.”
In a June op-ed in the New York Times, Murthy proposed requiring tobacco-style warning labels stating that social media is associated with “significant mental health harms for adolescents.” Murthy said the labels would help raise awareness as evidence mounts linking heavy social media use with anxiety, depression, body image issues, and disrupted sleep patterns among teens.
While direct causal studies remain limited, Murthy and other officials say research strongly suggests a correlation between social media exposure and adolescent mental health struggles. Lawmakers at both state and federal levels have introduced a series of bills aimed at limiting screen time, increasing transparency, and requiring tech companies to design safer platforms for young users.
At the same time, the U.S. Senate has advanced legislation that would compel technology companies to take “reasonable” steps to prevent harms to children, such as bullying and sexual exploitation, while expanding data privacy protections.
Despite widespread political support, industry advocates warn that state and federal mandates risk stifling innovation and overstepping constitutional limits. But supporters of California’s new law say it reflects a broader public health consensus that platforms designed for engagement have too often ignored the well-being of their youngest users.
