United States | The highest medical authority requires warning signs on social media platforms

of the United States the highest medical authority Vivek Murthy hopes for legislation from Congress that would force giant companies called “social media” to post warnings on their platforms about activities and content that undermine the mental health of children and teenagers.

For example, notifications, changing content to the next one automatically and similar measures are, according to Murthy, practices that are addictive and damage the brains of middle-aged children.

“I don’t think we can rely solely on platforms to solve this problem by themselves,” he assessed.

“They would have already had 20 years to fix the matter.”

of The New York Times and The Hill’s according to the warning signs, when implemented, would be compared to the mandatory warning signs for health risks on tobacco and alcohol products.

Already last year, Murthy gave instructions that parents should immediately limit their children’s use of smartphones.

However, according to him, it is not only about the actions of parents and teachers, but also about the fact that new technology has been introduced without sufficient security measures, transparency and responsibility.

That’s why he called on the legislators to act to improve the health and safety practices of the industry. At the same time, he demands that the companies’ algorithms and other practices be opened up to health authorities and independent researchers.

Alan the companies have argued that the warning labels could hinder freedom of speech and considered that science has not unequivocally established the disadvantages of the industry’s practices.

In an article published in The New York Times on Monday in the essay Murthy responds by citing the year 2019, for example for researchaccording to which teenagers who use social media platforms for more than three hours a day are at higher risk of developing mental health problems than others.

He also referred to the 2022 reportaccording to which the use of social media makes young people feel more insecure about their bodies than others.

In February of this year, there was a report on the special dangers of social media for teenage girls’ mental health.

The matter is also being investigated EU Commission.

The same algorithms help some marginalized young people find each other and perhaps get peer support.

However, in Murthy’s opinion, it is clear that the disadvantages are greater than the benefits and the platforms must now be urgently made safer.

Some there are precedents. In 1965, Congress enacted a law that required tobacco products sold in the United States to carry a warning label stating that the products “may be hazardous to health.”

Since then, the popularity of smoking has clearly decreased in the United States, The New York Times reminds.

In Finland, warning labels on cigarette packs came into force in 1978.

The latest significant tightening came into force last year, when brand looks and logos were removed from the retail packaging of tobacco products, electronic cigarettes and refill containers.

An observational picture of the consequences of the tightening of the tobacco law coming into effect in 2023 on cigarette packs sold in Finland. Picture: Valvira

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