Governor Gavin Newsom announced that his administration is pushing to restrict students’ use of smartphones in California schools, one day after the nation’s top doctor called for warning labels to be placed on social-media platforms.
On Monday, U.S. surgeon general Vivek Murthy issued his latest warning about the harmful effects that social media has on children’s mental health. In an op-ed published by the New York Times, he urged Congress to work on legislation that would compel tech companies to include health warnings like the ones seen on cigarettes and alcohol.
Neither the House nor the Senate has introduced legislation mandating social-media health warnings. But upon Murthy’s plea, it appears that Newsom and California lawmakers are now working toward limiting or outright banning smartphone use in classrooms.
“As the Surgeon General affirmed, social media is harming the mental health of our youth,” Newsom said in a statement on Tuesday, first reported by Politico. “Building on legislation I signed in 2019, I look forward to working with the Legislature to restrict the use of smartphones during the school day. When children and teens are in school, they should be focused on their studies — not their screens.”
It’s unclear what the new legislation would exactly entail, but Newsom said he plans on working with the state’s Democratic-controlled legislature to pass heavier smartphone restrictions before the current session ends in August. The issue is expected to receive bipartisan support.
Possible proposals under consideration include restricting social-media use on school grounds and requiring school districts to limit or ban smartphones at schools by 2026. A Democratic lawmaker even floated the idea of passing California’s own warning-label policy, akin to Murthy’s recommendation, if Congress fails to pass a federal one.
Newsom has long warned about the dangers that social media poses to minors and has enacted legislation to address the issue.
In 2022, the governor signed a bill requiring tech companies to comply with strict data and privacy requirements for users under 18. Tech-industry group NetChoice then sued California, alleging that the law violates the First Amendment. The bill has yet to take effect, as it remains blocked by a federal judge while the lawsuit is pending.
Three years before, as he said in Tuesday’s announcement, Newsom signed legislation that encouraged schools to develop policies limiting or banning students’ use of smartphones during school hours.
California is not the only state to have enacted restrictions on smartphones in classrooms. Florida became the first state last year to pass a bill that outright banned the use of cellphones during school hours and blocked social-media access on school-district Wi-Fi. The state law affects all of Florida’s public schools. Indiana also has a cellphone ban set to take effect next month, while similar measures failed to advance in Tennessee and Kansas this year.