Vermont H 823: An act relating to social media warning labels

Bill Text

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VT LEG #386321 v.1
H.823 1
Introduced by Representatives Arsenault of Williston and Goodnow of 2
Brattleboro 3
Referred to Committee on 4
Date: 5
Subject: Commerce and trade; consumer protection; social media warning 6
labels 7
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to require 8
persons that operate social media platforms to place warning labels on the 9
platforms that warn their users of the mental health dangers of using social 10
media. 11
An act relating to social media warning labels 12
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 13
Sec. 1. 9 V.S.A. chapter 63, subchapter 1F is added to read: 14
Subchapter 1F. Social Media Warning Labels 15
§ 2470oo. WARNING LABELS AND NOTIFICATIONS 16
(a) Requirements. A person shall include a mental health warning label on 17
a social media platform it operates that: 18
(1) follows the guidelines developed by the Attorney General pursuant 19
to subsection (b) of this section; 20

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(2) appears in a size that is easily readable by the average user each time 1
a user accesses the platform; 2
(3) warns a user of potential negative mental health impacts of accessing 3
the platform; 4
(4) provides the user with access to resources to address the potential 5
negative mental health impacts of social media and includes the website and 6
telephone number of a national suicide prevention and mental health crisis 7
hotline system, including the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline; and 8
(5) only disappears when the user: 9
(A) exits the platform; or 10
(B) acknowledges the potential for harm and chooses to hide or 11
minimize the label. 12
(b) Guidelines. The Attorney General, in consultation with the 13
Commissioner of Health, shall develop guidelines for the mental health 14
warning label to be used by social media platforms in order to conform with 15
the requirements of this section. The guidelines shall be based on current 16
evidence regarding the negative mental health impacts of social media 17
platforms. The Attorney General shall review and revise the guidelines as 18
appropriate. 19
(c) Prohibitions. As it pertains to a warning label required by this section, a 20
social media platform shall not: 21

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(1) provide the warning label exclusively in the social media platform’s 1
terms and conditions; 2
(2) include extraneous information in the warning label that obscures the 3
visibility or prominence of the warning label; or 4
(3) allow a user to disable the warning label, except as provided under 5
subdivision (a)(5) of this section. 6
(d) Time used on platform. 7
(1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, a social 8
media platform shall display a conspicuous pop-up notification not less than 9
once every 30 minutes for a user who is actively using the platform. The 10
notification shall: 11
(A) inform the user: 12
(i) that the user has actively used the platform for the relevant 13
consecutive period of time; and 14
(ii) of the total time the user has actively used the platform that 15
calendar day; and 16
(B) only disappear upon the user closing the notification. 17
(2) A social media platform may allow a user to customize the period of 18
time resulting in the notification, provided that the maximum time period shall 19
not exceed 60 minutes. 20
(e) Enforcement and rulemaking. 21

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(1) A person that violates this section or rules adopted pursuant to this 1
section commits an unfair and deceptive act in commerce in violation of 2
section 2453 of this chapter. 3
(2) The Attorney General shall have the same authority under this 4
section to make rules, conduct civil investigations, bring civil actions, and 5
enter into assurances of discontinuance as provided in this chapter. 6
(f) Definitions. As used in this section, “social media platform” means a 7
website, mobile application, or internet medium that: 8
(1) permits a person to become a registered user, establish an account, or 9
create a profile for the purpose of allowing users to create, share, and view 10
user-generated content through such an account or profile; 11
(2) enables one or more users to generate content that can be viewed by 12
other users of the medium; and 13
(3) primarily serves as a medium for users to interact with content 14
generated by other users of the medium. 15
Sec. 2. SOCIAL MEDIA WARNING LABEL GUIDELINES 16
The Attorney General shall publish the guidelines for social media warning 17
labels pursuant to 9 V.S.A. § 2470oo(b) on or before April 1, 2027. 18

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Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATES 1
This act shall take effect on July 1, 2027, except that this section (effective 2
dates) and Sec. 2 (social media warning label guidelines) shall take effect on 3
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