Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown joined 41 other attorneys general in calling on congress to pass legislation that would require a U.S. surgeon general warning on all algorithm-driven social media platforms. The bipartisan letter cites growing concern over social media’s impact on young people’s mental health.
Research links social media use to depression, anxiety and social media use. “Every day, our youth are turning to social media platforms that, unknowingly to them, are designed to exploit their vulnerabilities and push them deeper into cycles of anxiety, depression, and self-doubt,” said Attorney General Brown. 
The attorneys general also noted in the letter that social media platforms use algorithmic recommendations, scrolling and constant notifications to constantly engage kids, which works at the expense of taking breaks, sleeping and other activities.
Attorney General Brown and the 41 other attorneys general sued Meta in October 2023 for the company’s features on Instagram and other platforms that are addictive to teenagers and children. The coalition submitted the letter stating that federal action is necessary since “social media platforms have demonstrated an unwillingness to fix the problem on their own.”
