2 days ago
Minnesota becomes first state to pass social media warning label law
Minnesotans will soon see this new warning label on social media
Minnesotans will soon see this new warning label on social media
Minnesotans will soon see this new warning label on social media
Bridgette Norring's son, Devin Norring, was a typical 19-year-old: He had a quick wit, loved making music and playing football.
"He was just such a bright ray of sun in our family," Bridgette Norring said.
Five years ago, Bridgette Norring's son died when he purchased a fentanyl-laced pill over Snapchat.
"Really miss him a lot," said Bridgette Norring.
Advocates say what happened to Devin Norring is just one story representing the dangers of social media for young people.
"We are seeing kids being sextorted, we are seeing kids being sex trafficked, kids that are being bullied, kids that are buying illegal drugs on social media platforms," said Erich Mische, CEO of CEO of SAVE, a Bloomington-based nonprofit that for 36 years has been dedicated to suicide prevention.
State lawmakers have now passed a bill making warning labels on social media the law.
The new law will be life-changing and life-saving, Mische said.
"When Erich from SAVE reached out to me last night saying it passed, I cried, because this is a huge huge win for parents," said Bridgette Norring.
According to the bill, a "conspicuous mental health warning label" will soon be mandatory and will appear each time the user logs on, beginning July 2026.
The warning will apply to all popular social media platforms, said Mische. The exact language of those warnings is still to be determined, he said.
The warning label will also point users towards mental health resources and the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
"What we're hoping we will see is there will be messages that tell you that here are some of the harms that you will find on these particular platforms, so that the users can be clearly aware of the risks that they face when they enter that site," said Mische.
Despite the new law, Mische said the battle with social media companies over this is likely still far from over.
"I have no doubt that they will likely do their best to try to stop this from being implemented and we welcome that fight," said Mische.
