The bill would require platforms to show the label when a person signs up for an account and then once each week.
鈥淭he attention economy is using our children and their wellbeing to make money for these California companies,鈥� Assembly member Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, the bill鈥檚 author, said at a press conference in San Francisco on Monday. Bauer-Kahan is a Democrat who represents parts of the East Bay.
The U.S. Surgeon General last year that found adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media have twice the risk of poor mental health outcomes as those who spend less time online.
It also noted that some young people 鈥� especially from marginalized communities 鈥� benefit from connections and positive content they encounter online.
The Surgeon General also called for national lawmakers to require a warning on social media.
Ash Johnson is with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a think tank supported by major tech companies. She said people already tend to click through pop ups, such as ones that ask permission to collect cookies.
鈥淚 kind of expect something like a warning label for certain types of websites like social media to have a similar effect where people will not pay much attention to them,鈥� she said.
Johnson also said if the bill becomes law, companies will likely show the labels to everyone, not just Californians.
Studies show that warning labels generally have mixed results. in the health journal JAMA showed that graphic warning labels on cigarette packs don鈥檛 often convince smokers to quit, but do increase their knowledge of the risks. published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders reported that warning labels on digitally modified images of people did not prevent viewers from feeling worse about their own bodies after viewing them.
Attorney General Rob Bonta is sponsoring the bill. He said it should be part of a wider effort to keep children鈥檚 internet usage in check.
鈥淭his label won't solve everything, but it's critical in raising awareness about the very real public health crisis that we're in,鈥� he said.
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