The US medical chief is urging Congress to pass legislation requiring social media to carry warning labels

The US medical superintendent said social media use could be damaging to the mental health of young people and urged Congress to enact legislation requiring social media platforms to carry warning labels.

According to the New York Times, U.S. Medical Superintendent Vivek Murthy announced Monday that he will push for social media platforms to include warning labels to let parents know that using social media platforms can harm the mental health of teenagers.

Adding warning labels, such as those on tobacco and alcohol products, is one of the most powerful tools available to the nation's top health officials, but Murthy cannot do it unilaterally and would need approval from Congress.

In May of last year, Dr. Murthy recommended in an advisory that parents immediately limit their children's cellphone use and urged Congress to quickly set health and safety standards for technology platforms. (Reuters)

Murthy has been escalating warnings in recent years that social media platforms are harming the mental health of young people. Last May, he recommended in an advisory that parents immediately limit their children's phone use and urged Congress to quickly set health and safety standards for technology platforms.

He also called on tech companies to make changes, including sharing internal data on the health effects of their products, allowing independent safety audits, and limiting features like push notifications, autoplay, and unlimited scrolling, which he said "can harm the developing brain and lead to overuse of social media platforms."

Murthy, in an interview, was discouraged by the social media platforms' reluctance to take such steps. "I don't think we can just expect social media platforms to solve these problems on their own," he said. "They've had 20 years."

But Murthy remains "optimistic" that lawmakers will introduce a bill that would require social media platforms to carry warning labels. In the future, he expects warning labels to appear regularly on screens when people use social media platforms.