Social media warning label bill moves forward in California legislature

Kate Wolffe, The Sacramento Bee on Apr 23, 2025

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A bill that would add a black box warning to social media home screens moved forward in the California Legislature Tuesday, after emotional testimony from witnesses and Assembly members.

AB 56, authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-Orinda, would show users of all ages a black box warning for 10 seconds when the home screen is first opened for the day, a larger warning box for at least 90 seconds after 3 hours of active use, and once an hour after that. The bill initially suggested a 90 second warning when users first access the sites or apps, but was watered down over the course of negotiations.

The amended warning would read: “The Surgeon General has warned that while social media may have benefits for some young users, social media is associated with significant mental health harms and has not been proven safe for young users.”

Last summer, former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for a surgeon general’s warning label to be placed on social media platforms to address the youth mental health crisis.

During a hearing Tuesday, Bauer-Kahan appealed to the Assembly members that are parents and grandparents on the Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection, of which she is the chair.

“Our teens have become a commodity,” she said. “Their attention has become something that companies are trying to profit off of and in so doing, they are harming our youth.”

The bill is opposed by TechNet, an organization that represents technology companies, including Meta, and the Computer and Communications Industry Association, a nonprofit trade association.

TechNet’s Dylan Hoffman said the member groups are opposed because they don’t think it will be effective to improve youth mental health, and they believe it blocks people’s Constitutional right to free speech. Hoffman said excessive warnings create “warning fatigue” for users, and that 40% of users navigate away from a loading screen after 3 seconds.

“At best, these labels will be ignored,” said Hoffman. “At worst, they’ll create an annoyance and burden to users of all ages trying to access lawful speech.”

Assembly members on the committee weren’t convinced of Hoffman’s testimony.

“What I did hear from you sir, was essentially arguing for no regulation in the face of all of this,” said Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, to Hoffman.

She gestured to evidence showing social media exposes young people to anxiety, cyberbullying, distorted body image issues, self harm, and shortened attention spans.

“I will tell you, as a mom, there’s no way we are going to sit here and let this happen to our children.”

Wicks is no stranger to putting up a fight against tech groups touting the First Amendment. Her 2022 bill, The California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, was meant to go into effect in 2024, but has been held up in court because an online trade association filed a First Amendment complaint against it.

The bill passed through the privacy committee Tuesday. Next, it will head to the Assembly Judicial Committee, where committee members will likely assess First Amendment concerns.

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