New York is drawing a bright line around the digital habits of young users.
Under a new state law announced by Governor Kathy Hochul, social media platforms that rely on endless scrolling, auto-play videos, or algorithm-driven feeds will soon be required to display mental health warning labels. The move targets design features critics say are engineered to keep users—especially children and teenagers—hooked for hours.
The warning labels are meant to act as a pause button, alerting users to the potential psychological risks tied to excessive engagement. According to the governor, protecting children from online environments that encourage compulsive use is now part of the state’s broader public safety agenda.
The legislation casts a wide net. Any platform offering so-called “addictive feeds,” including infinite scroll or auto-play, falls within its scope if the conduct occurs wholly or partly in New York. Services accessed entirely outside the state are excluded.
Enforcement power rests with the state’s attorney general, who may initiate legal action and seek civil penalties of up to $5,000 for each violation.
Hochul likened the digital warnings to labels already familiar to consumers—such as tobacco notices flagging cancer risks or plastic packaging alerts cautioning parents about suffocation hazards. The idea, she suggested, is not to ban products outright but to clearly communicate risks before harm is done.
New York’s move places it alongside states like California and Minnesota that have adopted stricter approaches to social media regulation. Internationally, the issue is also gaining traction; Australia recently announced a ban on social media access for children under 16.
Major technology companies whose platforms could be affected did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Concerns about the impact of social media on children’s mental health have been intensifying worldwide. In the United States, several school districts have launched lawsuits against large social media firms, arguing their products contribute to anxiety, depression, and other harms among students.
Adding to that momentum, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory in 2023 urging stronger safeguards for young users and later publicly called for warning labels on social media—an idea that New York has now turned into law.
With this legislation, the state is betting that a simple message on the screen could make users think twice before the next scroll never seems to end.
