TikTok, Instagram and other social networks will have to warn about potential harm to mental health

The world continues to tighten regulation of social media. After Australia introduced restrictions on access to YouTube, TikTok and other online platforms for users under 16, the US state of New York took a similar step at the level of regional legislation.

The state government has adopted a law that obliges a number of social networks to warn users about the potential negative impact of their services on mental health. This primarily concerns platforms with an endless stream of personalized content and automatic video playback – such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and similar services.

The initiative is aimed at increasing the level of protection for children and adolescents. New York Governor Katie Hokul, commenting on the adoption of the law, said that about half of young people admit that social networks make them feel worse about their own bodies. According to her, teenagers who spend more time on social media are almost twice as likely to rate their mental health as bad or very bad.

Under the new requirements, warnings about the potential harm of using social media will be displayed to all users and cannot be turned off or skipped. For each confirmed case of non-compliance with these requirements, platforms face fines of up to $ 5,000. Lawmakers hope that such measures will force companies to be more respectful of the consequences of their algorithms and increase public attention to issues of digital safety and mental health.