New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella continues his crusade to clean up social media, signing on to a letter this week calling for new health warning labels on social media apps.
“New Hampshire children and their families deserve to know about the harms that social media platforms can cause. Congress should require these platforms to clearly tell their users about those harms as one step to help protect kids from the predatory practices of social media,” Formella said.
Formella and a bipartisan coalition of 41 other attorneys general sent the letter to Washington D.C. lawmakers pushing them to pass a law requiring a U.S. Surgeon General warning on all algorithm-driven social media platforms. The letter comes amidst growing scrutiny of social media companies for their role in generational harm to young people’s mental health.
The attorneys general say in their letter that more action is necessary because “social media platforms have demonstrated an unwillingness to fix the problem on their own.”
They cited growing bodies of research that link young people’s use of these platforms to psychological harm, including depression, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts in kids and teens. They also note how platforms feature irresistible algorithmic recommendations, infinite scrolling, and a constant stream of notifications designed to keep kids relentlessly engaged on the platforms, even at the expense of taking breaks, engaging in other activities, or sleeping.
In June 2023, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office solicited stories from parents, teachers, and coaches about the negative impacts of social media. At the same time, Gov. Chris Sununu issued an executive order for state agencies to develop curricula addressing these harms, highlighted by the GoPlayNH initiative.
Around that same time, U. S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy published an op ed in The New York Times supporting the idea of warning labels for social media.
“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,” Murthy wrote.
“The moral test of any society is how well it protects its children. Now is the time to summon the will to act. Our children’s well-being is at stake.”
In October 2023, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit against Meta alongside 44 other states. In June of this year, New Hampshire became one of the first states in the country to file a lawsuit against TikTok to stop the harmful impacts that the platform has on kids.
“While our investigation into social media companies is ongoing, our findings confirm that these companies have exploited children’s vulnerabilities and misled those responsible for their safety,” Formella said. “We remain committed to holding these companies accountable and ensuring a safer online environment for our children.”
