New York Orders Mental Health Warnings on Social Media

New York is poised to require mental health warning labels on social media, stepping to the forefront of a growing movement among states and regulators to compel platforms to expose user-engagement duties they have kept shrouded in secrecy. The measure positions New York as the fourth state seeking the warnings, after Colorado, Minnesota and California, and suggests a growing concern of how nonstop feeds, likes and autoplay can affect young users.

Signed by Governor Kathy Hochul, the legislation (S4505/A5346) requires social platforms that use “predatory” features — including infinite scroll, like counters, autoplay and algorithmic feeds — to provide prominent warnings based on research of potential mental health risks. The state’s commissioner of mental health will determine the text and placement rules, and firms that bury alerts in terms and conditions will not be compliant. Enforcement is up to the attorney general, with civil penalties of up to $5,000 for every violation.

What the Law Requires for Social Media Warnings in New York

The edict extends more widely to platforms whose central engagement mechanics are algorithmically engineered to drive maximum time-on-platform and return visits — think infinite scroll, streaks and dopamine-triggering counters. Labels should be unambiguous, persistent, and visible when interacting with a product. Anticipate rules that mandate warnings near the feed, next to engagement features and at intervals correlated with time spent, not only at sign-up.

Most important, the commissioner is directed to use peer-reviewed science in crafting the warnings and deciding how frequently they must be used. That design is similar to how public health agencies work out the graphic warning labels for tobacco or e-cigarettes — rotating messages, high contrast between elements, and short, evidence-based statements are probably part of the final playbook.

Why Mental Health Warnings on Social Media Are Arriving Now

Top health experts have been sounding alarms about youth mental health and social media for years. The U.S. Surgeon General has also sounded the alarm, cautioning that there is a “profound risk of harm” and calling on Congress to consider including a Surgeon General warning with social platforms. Forty-two percent of high school students reported feeling persistently sad or hopeless (57 percent among teen girls), which illustrates a problem that predates (but is worsened by) digitally algorithmic environments.

The American Psychological Association has called for product design and parental tools to work in tandem, pointing out that heavy, passive consumption and use in the middle of the night are both associated with worse sleep, mood and attention. New York’s method relies on a simple, effective public health tool: put a clear risk message in front of the behavior, when it happens.

What the Evidence Suggests About Social Media Warning Labels

By themselves, warning labels are not silver bullets, but research from tobacco control and nutrition policy suggests that they can change perceptions of risks and consequences as well as intended behaviors — which amass over time to result in behavior changes — especially when warning messages are frequent, salient and contextually situated.

On social media, every minute is another chance for profit in the attention economy, so even small edges gained by reducing overall session time or late-night scrolling could potentially translate to big gains in sleep and mood for teens.

Real-world analogs already exist. Instagram’s “Take a Break” nudges and YouTube’s bedtime reminders prove that in-the-moment prompts can pare back uninterrupted use for some segment of users. New York’s labels might be able to standardize and amplify these nudges across platforms, and make it harder for warnings to be buried behind settings menus.

Legal and Industry Pushback Against New York’s Warning Labels

Tech trade groups will probably challenge the law as compelled speech. In Colorado, a similar measure was halted by a federal court after NetChoice — an organization representing companies like Meta, YouTube, X and Reddit — filed suit against what it said were First Amendment violations. New York’s reliance on peer-reviewed research, product-embedded placement and a smaller target window of addictive design features is an attempt to erect a sturdier legal footing, but litigation is all but inevitable.

If that test holds up, platforms will have several options for complying:

• Interstitial warnings before users enter an infinite feed
• Persistent labels around like counters
• Timed prompts after users have scrolled for too long
• Banners filling the screen when autoplay continues

The operational lift is not inconsequential — copywriting, localization, UI changes, QA, and measurement — but most large platforms shipping similar safety prompts already could rapidly converge on such a design.

Where This Leaves Parents and Teens Using Social Media in New York

Labels won’t substitute for parental controls or education in schools, but they add a universal, always-on signal in an area where norms are still being established. And used in concert with device-level tools such as Apple’s Screen Time and Android’s Family Link, alerts can help reinforce boundaries and make late-night doomscrolling seem less “automatic.”

For teens, clarity matters. The most effective messages will be brief, concrete and rotating — flagging risks associated with sleep, mood, body image, social comparison channels and offering pointers to help resources. The law’s reliance on peer-reviewed science will be crucial in getting that language right.

What Comes Next for New York’s Social Media Warning Label Rules

“The devil is always in the details,” said Dana Mattioli, New York’s deputy policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

New York regulators now need to spell out how to label fuel nozzles and where to place the notice, solicit expert input and set enforcement parameters. Other states, including Texas, are considering similar proposals, and international frameworks such as the EU’s Digital Services Act compel platforms to assess and reduce systemic risks faced by children.

Regardless of how the court battles go, the policy direction is clear: lawmakers are aiming straight at those features that make social media difficult to resist. The warning labels are not going to solve the youth mental health crisis in New York, but they represent an important shift: They bring public health signaling right into the feed — where it is most difficult for us to ignore.