• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, Yesterday

Minnesota lawmakers have passed a bill requiring social media platforms to post “conspicuous” notices warning users of potential risks to their mental health.

The proposed law hasn't yet been signed by Governor Tim Walz.

If enacted, the measure would require labels to appear every time users access a platform, and remain until the users acknowledge the warnings and opt to proceed.

The labels would have to warn of “potential negative mental health impacts of accessing the social media platform,” and include information about how to access suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotlines.

The statute will take effect July 1, 2026, if signed into law.

Other states including California and New York are considering similar legislation.

On the national level, U.S. Senators John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) and Katie Britt (R-Alabama), last year introduced the Stop the Scroll Act, which would have required social platforms nationwide to inform users every time they access social apps about “potential negative mental health impacts.”

The legislative initiatives mostly began after U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for a warning on social media services.

“The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency -- and social media has emerged as an important contributor,” Murthy wrote in an op-ed in The New York Times.

“It is time to require a surgeon general’s warning label on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents,” he added.

The tech funded policy group Chamber of Progress criticized the Minnesota bill, arguing it violates the First Amendment.

“Imagine if bookstores were forced to post warning labels on their front door that the entire place is dangerous because some books inside are explicit. That’s what this bill does to social media,” Chamber of Progress vice president of litigation Kathleen Farley stated Friday.