Can states force social media sites to carry warning labels?

NetChoice filed suit against California over AB 56, which will require platforms including Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok to display a warning to minors about social media’s association with significant mental health harms. The notice would appear when a minor first logs on, after three hours of cumulative active use, and at least once every hour thereafter.

The litigation adds to NetChoice’s challenges to similar requirements in Colorado and Minnesota. A court blocked Colorado’s warning mandate last year, and the decision is on appeal before the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is expected to hear arguments early next year. NetChoice argues the laws compel platforms to convey the government’s view that social media speech is harmful; states say the warnings are factual disclosures serving children’s well-being.

The dispute centers in part on whether the warnings qualify as commercial speech, which could make them easier for states to require. States cite studies linking excessive social media use to harm among young people, while companies and their supporters say the science is unsettled and the warnings are not factual, uncontroversial statements.