New York Mandates Mental Health Warnings on Social Media

Amid growing concern over the negative impact of social media on young people’s mental health, the US state of New York is set to enforce a new law requiring mental health warning labels on social media platforms. Signed by Governor Kathy Hochul, the legislation mandates that platforms display mental health warnings similar to those used for tobacco products.

With this move, New York becomes the fourth US state—following Colorado, Minnesota, and California—to adopt such measures, according to PCMag.

Under the law, identified as S4505/A5346, social media platforms that include addictive or “predatory” features—such as infinite scrolling, autoplay, or visible like counts—must display warnings highlighting potential mental health risks for young users.

The design and placement of these warnings will be determined by New York’s Mental Health Commissioner and will be based on peer-reviewed research. The law explicitly prohibits platforms from hiding warnings within terms and conditions or policy documents.

Violations of the law may result in legal action by the Attorney General’s office, with fines of up to $5,000 per violation.

While similar laws in other states have faced legal challenges on the grounds of freedom of expression, New York authorities maintain that protecting public mental health—particularly that of young people—is the primary objective of the legislation.

DBTech/BMT/OR