Governor Tim Walz has signed the law this year, which requires the sites to provide users with the warning label that starts in July 2026. Social media companies say they will seek changes or try to block application, but supporters say that pop-ups can encourage people, especially for children, to be more thought.
“I think that The evidence is very clear This use of social media is related to depression, anxiety, loneliness, self -harm, suicidal idea, eating disorders, all sorts of terrible mental health states, “says a representative of the democratic state Zack Stevenson, the main sponsor of the law.” You will see a message that tells you that prolonged use of social media. “
Stevenson says the labels, although not written, will be like warnings for tobacco or alcohol and depends on the Ministry of Health in Minnesota to decide what they say.
“If you expected a lot of tobacco to make cigarettes less addicted in the 50s and 60s, you would be wrong,” Stevenson says. “Addiction was their business model. And the same is true of major technologies.”
A national fee from the Biden era
With President Biden a former general of the US surgeon Vivek Murdy called Warning labels be placed on sites last year. He pointed out studies showing that prolonged social media Usage can lead to more mental health results, a higher rate of eating disorders and problems with the image of the body among children and adolescents. Minnesota is the first country to adopt legislation requiring these types of labels. New York could soon follow.
In Minnesota, the default of the labels can be met with an investigation and a civil penalty imposed by the Prosecutor General of the State. Social media platforms should also provide resources to deal with adverse mental health results – such as the hotline of suicide and crisis 988, for something that suicide advocates were fighting.
While the warning labels are not the complete solution to protect young people online, they “serve as a really powerful tool for public training, making them aware that the things that happen on social media are a significant danger to their children’s safety,” says Erich Mish, CEO of suicidal awareness.
The technology presses back
The bill faced some opposition of Republicans in Capitol, who stated that this could limit the freedom of speech, but others in the party supported the proposal, stating that the impact of social media on young people requires a stronger answer.
Netchoice, an industrial group that represents social media companies, says it will ask MPs to return the law next year. If this fails, Netchoice says he can judge the state.
“This is, in my opinion, forces the companies essentially to deny themselves in ways they would otherwise choose not to do it,” says Paul Taske, condesor the group’s court center. “We had courts Throughout the country, it is said that you cannot force private participants to act as a mouthpiece for the state to promulgate the preferred state message. “
Netchoice is suing the state because of a law that came into force earlier this month, requiring social media companies to notify consumers of how their algorithms recommend content. Taske says that instead of forcing companies to publish warning labels, the state should train the Minnesotans for potential problems for young people who decide to use sites.
“The government has the ability to walk and use its own voice, its own pulpit of thugs, its own pedestal, to try to get its message,” Taske says. “The problem here is that it is trying to force private companies to distribute a message about it.”
By preventing the successful legal challenge, the warning labels will come into force on July 1, 2026.
If you or someone you know, considering suicide, call or send text 988 to get to the hot line of suicide and crisis.
