MOORHEAD, Minn. (Valley News Live) – Starting July 1, 2026, Minnesotans who open popular social media apps could see a mental health warning before they reach their feeds \u2014 even as tech companies fight to stop the requirement in federal court.<\/p>\n
An amendment to Minnesota\u2019s consumer digital and data privacy law, Section 325M.335, \u201cMental Health Warning,\u201d takes effect Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Signed by Gov. Tim Walz in 2025, it makes Minnesota the first state in the country to require a state\u2011authored mental health warning label on social media platforms.<\/p>\n
Under the law, social media companies must display a clearly visible pop\u2011up warning every time a user opens a covered platform.<\/p>\n
The warning can\u2019t be buried in terms and conditions or other fine print, and it must include the 9-8-8 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline along with other mental health support information.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also written to cover all users \u2014 not just kids \u2014 and platforms won\u2019t be allowed to let you turn it off. Once a user acknowledges the warning, it disappears, but only until the next time they open the app. <\/p>\n
The warning requirement applies to platforms that allow users to create, share, and view user\u2011generated content for social interaction or networking, such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and X.<\/p>\n
Shauna Erickson\u2011Abou Zahr, a Regional Program Manager and MS, LMFT with The Village Family Service Center in Moorhead, said social media now touches most, if not all, of the people she sees in therapy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think social media is woven into nearly every single client\u2019s life, unless it\u2019s one of our early childhood cases, and even in those cases, they\u2019re still impacted because of parental usage,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
Erickson\u2011Abou Zahr said she and her colleagues are seeing more patients whose symptoms are tied, at least in part, to what they encounter online.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe monitor body image in all clients,\u201d she said. \u201cDuring the identity development part of our lives \u2014 our preteen, teen, and emerging adult years \u2014 when we\u2019re gleaning our worth based on our relationships with other people, that\u2019s where it can be really catastrophic.\u201d<\/p>\n
The regional program manager said it\u2019s \u201cexciting\u201d to see policy makers trying to elevate mental health priority.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it shows that we\u2019re seeing this as a very serious threat to people\u2019s health,\u201d she said. \u201cWe click through a lot of things in our day\u2011to\u2011day lives, and we attest to things without always realizing the full ramifications.”<\/p>\n
She continued, \u201cI don\u2019t know what a pop\u2011up does in terms of meaningful outcomes, but I do think it\u2019s a change that will hopefully bring a pause to people \u2014 especially for parents to be considering, \u2018What does this mean? Where do I need to revisit so that I\u2019m sure what I hope for my kid\u2019s experience in terms of safety online is, in fact, what\u2019s as close to possible in terms of outcome.”<\/p>\n
Enforcement authority under the new statute rests with the Minnesota Attorney General. The commissioner of health is responsible for creating and updating the warning text, in consultation with the commissioner of commerce.<\/p>\n
But before the law takes effect, it faces a major test.<\/p>\n
A tech industry group representing companies such as Meta, Google and TikTok has sued the state, arguing the law violates the First Amendment by compelling private companies to carry \u201cthe government\u2019s preferred message\u201d on their platforms.<\/p>\n
The group has asked a federal judge to block the warning requirement before the July 1 deadline.<\/p>\n
If the court does not rule in time, the warning will likely still go live while the legal fight continues.<\/p>\n
This Minnesota law joins other recent efforts to regulate social media and its impact on young people. There already is the Stop Harms From Addictive Social Media law, which requires verified parental consent before social media companies can allow children 16 or younger to create accounts.<\/p>\n
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