US surgeon general calls for tobacco-style warning label on social media platforms [Video]

Warning labels on social media platforms should be required, similar to the mandatory labels on cigarette packages, according to the U.S. surgeon general. 

Dr. Vivek Murthy called on Congress to implement such legislation in an opinion piece published on Monday in The New York Times. Murthy said that social media is a contributing factor in the mental health crisis among young people.

“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,” Murphy wrote. 

“A surgeon general’s warning label, which requires congressional action, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe,” he added. “Evidence from tobacco studies show that warning labels can increase awareness and change behavior.”

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