Social Media Warning Label Bills & Data Centers in Crosshairs of State Lawmakers

Social Media Warning Label Legislation Catching on in States

Although Congress hasn’t responded to former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s call last June to take up legislation requiring social media platforms to carry warning labels indicating that social media may be harmful to the mental health of young people, state lawmakers have taken up that cause.

A bill (HB 499) passed by the Texas House at the end of April would require platforms with over 50 million active monthly users to display such a warning message and crisis contact information every time users access the platforms.

A pair of Assembly committees in California have advanced a bill (AB 56) that would require a “black box” warning stating that “social media is associated with significant mental health harms and has not been proven safe for young users” to appear on a user’s screen after three hours of continuous use and hourly thereafter.

Companion measures (HB 1289 and SB 1807) in Minnesota would require such warning notifications every 30 minutes. But neither bill has advanced out of committee yet.

Legislation in New York (AB 5346 and SB 4505) would require warning labels on social media platforms that provide “an addictive feed, push notifications, autoplay, infinite scroll, and/or like counts.” The measures are sponsored by the same two lawmakers behind the passage of the state’s first-in-the-nation legislation last year requiring minors to receive chronological feeds by default.

Vermont Rep. Angela Arsenault (D) has also indicated that she intends to introduce a social media warning label bill in 2026. (PLURIBUS NEWS,LEXISNEXIS STATE NET)

Power-Hungry Data Centers Draw Attention of State Lawmakers

With energy-hungry artificial intelligence applications driving up electricity demand at data centers, at least 11 states have introduced legislation this year to regulate such facilities, including requiring them to disclose data about their power usage and pay special power rates to keep costs down for residential customers. Three of the states—Indiana (HB 1007), Maryland (HB 270) and Virginia (HB 1601)—have passed such measures, the first of which was signed into law by Gov. Mike Braun (R), while the Virginia bill was vetoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R). (PLURIBUS NEWS, LEXISNEXIS STATE NET)

—Compiled by SNCJ Managing Editor KOREY CLARK

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