John Fetterman Introduces ‘Stop the Scroll’ Bill to Introduce Mental Health Warnings on Social Media

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is teaming up with a Republican senator from Alabama to introduce a mental health warning label on social media platforms.

Fetterman and Sen. Katie Britt (R., Ala.) introduced the Stop the Scroll Act on Tuesday. If it becomes law, it would require the surgeon general to design a warning label system enforceable by the Federal Trade Commission. The label would appear as a pop-up warning users about the potential mental health risks of social media employ and provide links to mental health resources whenever a user opens a platform like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook or X. Users would have to acknowledge the warning before continuing to employ the platform.

“Find someone who says, ‘Hey, I just spent an hour on social media and I feel better about the world and myself,’” Fetterman said in Tuesday with Britt on Fox News“I’ve never met anyone like that, but if there is someone like that, I’d like to meet them.”

In an interview with Fox’s Bret Baier on the “Common Ground” segment, Fetterman and Britt described themselves as friends who became close during their first year of U.S. Senate orientation — much like their spouses, Gisele Fetterman and former New England Patriots tight end Wesley Britt visits.

Senator Britt visited Fetterman while he was at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last year, where he was being treated for severe depression following a near-fatal stroke and his 2022 election victory.

Fetterman said in an interview that he has witnessed the negative impact of social media on both himself and his children. Both senators said they bonded over their experiences as elected officials with children, which directly relates to their support for the bill. Fetterman has three children, and Britt has two.

“If you know someone who spends hours every day with one of your children, you want to know who they are talking about,” Fetterman said.

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is expected to support the bipartisan bill because he himself has already proposed these labels. Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry, as well as over 40 other attorneys general across the countrycalled on Congress to pass such legislation earlier this month.

Murthy he warned the negative effects that social media has on youthful people. He said that 95% of youthful people aged 13 to 17 said they used social media, and more than a third said they used it “almost constantly”. He said that youthful people who spent more than three hours a day on social media were twice as likely to experience symptoms of depression and anxiety, However, a study conducted in 2021 showed that that teenagers spend an average of 3½ hours a day on social media.

In 2023, the surgeon general called for “urgent action”“to better understand how social media affects young people and how to protect children from its negative effects. He warned that children are exposed to violent and sexual content, bullying and harassment on social media, and that social media threatens their sleep and valuable face-to-face time with loved ones.

“We are in the midst of a national youth mental health crisis, and I fear that social media is a significant driver of this crisis — a problem we need to address urgently,” he said.

Fetterman called his safety warning bill “common sense” and something parents would want for their children. He described what kids see on social media as being like what he once read on the back of a bathroom stall — but it’s right there, and they spend hours doing it.

“It’s a conversation that we would have as parents, let alone as senators, so I think it’s a completely appropriate conversation that we should be having at a national level,” he added.

» READ MORE: John Fetterman was open about his depression. Now he wants to create a national mental health commission

Fetterman has been open about her personal battle with depression, saying that social media is an “accelerator” for her. She wants to create federal commission on mental health and he introduced Bill in May with Sen. Tina Smith (D., Minn.) to do so. The commission, if established, would make policy recommendations to Congress and the president on improving access to and affordability of mental health care. Smith has also spoken publicly about her battle with depression.

Fetterman too co-sponsored corrected version Children’s Safety on the Internet Actwhich aims to improve the privacy of minors after the introduction of LGBTQ protections have been includedDifferent versions of the bill have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, but it cannot be considered until they reach an agreement.

He was also a co-sponsor Eyes on Deck Act with Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), a bill that would restrict access to social media in schools that has not moved forward.

Fetterman and Britt both said they would welcome the opportunity to forge bipartisan connections.

“I think some people think we have to hate each other, you know, D.C., ‘Oh, you’re a Republican, I’m a Democrat or whatever,’” Fetterman said. “But that’s just not true, it couldn’t be further from the truth.”