“Keeping New Yorkers safe has been my top priority since I took office, and that includes protecting our children from the potential harm of social media features that encourage overuse,” Hochul said in a statement.
This month, Australia imposed a social media ban for children under the age of 16. New York joins states like California and Minnesota that have similar social media laws.
New York law covers platforms that offer “addictive feeds,” autoplay or infinite scrolling, according to the law.
The law applies to conduct that occurs wholly or partly in New York, but not when the platform is physically accessible to users outside the state.
It allows the state’s attorney general to take legal action and seek civil penalties of up to US$5,000 ($7,443) per violation of the law.
Hochul compared the labels on social media to warnings on other products, such as tobacco, where they communicate the risk of cancer, or plastic packaging, where they warn of the risk of choking to small children.
Spokespeople for TikTok, Snap, Meta and Alphabet did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The effect of social media on children’s mental health has become a growing global concern, with US school districts suing Meta Platforms and other social media companies.
In 2023, the U.S. surgeon general issued an advisory on child protection and later called for warning labels on social media, as are now required in New York.
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