WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) - U.S. Surgeon General

Vivek Murthy on Monday called for a warning label to be added to

social media apps as a reminder that those platforms have caused

harm to young people, especially adolescents.

Murthy wrote in the New York Times on Monday that a warning

label alone will not make social media safe for young people but

that it can increase awareness and change behavior as shown in

evidence from tobacco studies. The U.S. Congress would need to

pass legislation requiring such a warning label.

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

For a long time, Murthy has been warning that social media

can profoundly harm the mental health of youth, particularly

adolescent girls. In an advisory last year, he called for

safeguards from tech companies for children who are at critical

stages of brain development.

A 2019 American Medical Association study showed that the

risk of depression doubled for teenagers who were spending three

hours a day on social media.

KEY QUOTES

"It is time to require a surgeon general's warning label on

social media platforms, stating that social media is associated

with significant mental health harms for adolescents," Murthy

wrote on Monday.

"A surgeon general's warning label, which requires

congressional action, would regularly remind parents and

adolescents that social media has not been proved safe," he

added.

CONTEXT

Some U.S. states have been working to pass legislation to

safeguard children from the harmful effects of social media,

such as anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses as a

result.

New York state lawmakers this month passed legislation to

bar social media platforms from exposing "addictive" algorithmic

content to users under age 18 without parental consent.

In March, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that

bans children under 14 from social media platforms and requires

14- and 15-year-olds to get parental consent.