Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Social Media Regulation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Informational hearing held on bill to require social-media warning labels and time prompts for users
Summary
Chair Stephenson presented an informational bill (House File 1289) proposing warning labels and periodic pop-ups on social media platforms to reduce harms to children; testimony included parents and suicide-prevention advocates who urged the committee to act; no committee action was taken because the hearing was informational.
Chair Stephenson introduced House File 1289 on an informational basis. The bill would require social-media platforms to display warning labels and provide pop-up notifications every 30 minutes informing users of their cumulative time on the platform; the sponsor said the measure heeds the U.S. Surgeon General's call to regulate platforms to protect kids' mental health.
Two witnesses told personal and organizational stories of harms linked to social-media use. Bridget Noring said her son died after buying counterfeit pills advertised on Snapchat and urged warning labels as a parental tool. "If a warning label on a screen can make even one kid pause or put down the phone and take a break, it's worth it," she said. Eric Michie, CEO of SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education), said global advocacy groups are asking for digital-safety reforms and argued the bill is a first step.
Chair Stephenson said the bill relies on existing statutory definitions of "social media companies" created in last year's law and that the proposal aims for bipartisan traction. The committee treated the bill informationally and took no final action.
