WASHINGTON — More than 40 state attorneys general, including Attorney General Russell Coleman, R-Ky., have joined in a letter demanding Congress require a surgeon general’s warning on social media platforms.

What You Need To Know

  • Attorney General Russell Coleman has joined in a letter demanding Congress require a surgeon general’s warning on social media platforms

  • More than 40 state attorneys general signed the letter

  • The leaders called the warning a “consequential step toward mitigating the risk of harm to youth”

“A growing body of research links young people’s use of those social media platforms to a variety of serious psychological harms, including depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation,” the letter stated.

The leaders called the warning a “consequential step toward mitigating the risk of harm to youth.” The letter is signed by both Republican and Democratic attorneys general, including the AGs of California, Florida, New York, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

Spectrum News reached out to social media company Meta for comment on the letter.

Coleman recently filed a lawsuit against TikTok, alleging the social media platform “created a deliberately addictive content system” and “designed features that exploit children’s psychological vulnerabilities,” according to a news release.

“TikTok is an addiction machine to draw our kids in to sell stuff,” Coleman told Spectrum News this week.

A dozen other states and the District of Columbia also filed suits against the company.

In a statement to Spectrum News, a TikTok spokesperson called many of the claims “misleading” and added, "We provide robust safeguards, proactively remove suspected underage users, and have voluntarily launched safety features such as default screentime limits, family pairing, and privacy by default for minors under 16.”

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