New York Will Slap Tobacco-Style Warning Labels on Social Media

Teens Cannot Click Past the Alerts

Governor Kathy Hochul just signed a law that treats Instagram and TikTok like cigarette packs.

Starting in 2026, social media platforms in New York must display mental health warnings whenever young users encounter features designed to keep them scrolling.

The labels cannot be skipped, hidden, or buried in terms of service.

And the research behind the law paints a troubling picture of what three hours a day on these apps is doing to teenage brains.

Warnings Pop Up at Login

The law requires platforms to show a warning label for at least 10 seconds every time a young user logs on. After three hours of total use, a second warning appears and stays on screen for 30 seconds.

From that point on, another warning shows up every hour. Users cannot click through, dismiss, or bypass these alerts.

The content of the warnings will be designed by the state commissioner of mental health based on the latest research.

Infinite Scroll Triggers the Label

The law targets specific features that platforms use to maximize engagement.

Algorithmic feeds, autoplay video, infinite scrolling, like counts, and push notifications all qualify as triggers.

If a platform offers any of these as a core part of its service, it must display warnings to young users.

The law does not ban these features outright but forces companies to be transparent about what they are doing to keep users hooked.

Fines Start at $5,000 Per Violation

The state attorney general will enforce the law and can pursue civil penalties of up to $5,000 for each violation.

Platforms cannot bury warnings in their terms of service or display them at times other than what the state prescribes. Any design feature that obscures or weakens the warning counts as a violation.

The law takes effect 180 days after the attorney general and mental health office finalize their regulations.

Three Hours Doubles Depression Risk

Research cited in the legislation found that adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk of depression and anxiety.

About 46 percent of teens say social media makes them feel worse about their bodies.

And teenagers with the highest usage levels are nearly twice as likely to rate their overall mental health as poor or very poor.

The state compared these patterns to the pathways seen in substance use and gambling addictions.

Teens Spend Five Hours a Day Online

The average American teenager now spends close to five hours daily on social media, according to Common Sense Media.

About 95 percent of teens aged 13 to 17 use at least one platform, and one third report being online almost constantly. That level of exposure far exceeds the three-hour threshold linked to mental health problems.

Girls spend more time on social media than boys and report higher rates of problematic use.

The Surgeon General Wanted This

Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for tobacco-style warning labels on social media in a June 2024 New York Times op-ed.

He wrote that the mental health crisis among young people is an emergency and that social media has emerged as an important contributor.

Murthy pointed to the success of cigarette warnings, which helped shift public attitudes over time, and said parents and teens deserve to know that these platforms have not been proven safe.

Tobacco Warnings Took Years to Work

Congress first required health warnings on cigarette packs in 1965, but smoking rates did not drop below 40 percent until the late 1970s. The early labels were weak by design.

Tobacco companies had lobbied for softer language, and the first warning only said smoking “may be hazardous.

” But historians credit those labels with launching a broader anti-tobacco movement that eventually led to advertising bans, public smoking restrictions, and graphic warnings on packs.

New York Already Limits Algorithmic Feeds

This warning label law builds on legislation Hochul signed in June 2024.

The SAFE for Kids Act requires platforms to get parental consent before serving algorithmic feeds to users under 18.

It also blocks overnight notifications between midnight and 6 a.m. unless parents approve.

The attorney general released draft rules for enforcement in September 2025, and the full law could take effect by mid-2027 once regulations are finalized.

California Has a Similar Law

Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act in September 2024.

It bans addictive feeds for minors without parental consent and blocks notifications during school hours and late at night.

The law partially took effect in January 2025, though tech industry groups filed lawsuits claiming it violates the First Amendment.

A federal appeals court upheld the core provisions in September 2025, and full enforcement is expected by 2027.

More States Are Taking on Big Tech

At least 12 states have enacted or proposed laws targeting teen social media use as of early 2025. Some require age verification.

Others mandate parental consent for algorithmic feeds.

Mississippi’s law requiring consent and age checks is currently in effect after surviving a court challenge.

NetChoice, a tech industry trade group, has sued multiple states over these laws, arguing they violate free speech. But courts have increasingly sided with states trying to protect minors from addictive design features.

Labels Alone Will Not Fix This

Warning labels did not end smoking overnight, and they will not solve the teen mental health crisis on their own. But New York is betting that transparency can shift behavior over time.

Platforms will have to admit, on screen, that their products are designed to be hard to put down. Parents will see reminders that their kids are using something the state considers risky.

And teenagers might start to notice that the apps competing for their attention come with the same kind of caution found on a pack of cigarettes.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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