Tag Archives: Addiction & Substance Abuse

New York State will require warning labels on social media platforms

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The State of New York will now require social media platforms to display warning labels similar to those found on cigarettes. The bill was passed by the New York Legislature in June and signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday. It will apply to any platforms that feature infinite scrolling, auto-play, like counts or algorithmic feeds. The labels will caution those on the platform about potential harm to young users' mental health.

Social media companies will be required to display these warning labels when a user first interacts with any of the features the state considers predatory. The warning will also be displayed periodically after that interaction. 

"Keeping New Yorkers safe has been my top priority since taking office, and that includes protecting our kids from the potential harms of social media features that encourage excessive use," Gov. Hochul said in a statement. The law will apply when any of these platforms are being accessed from New York. Gov. Hochul also signed two bills into law last year aimed at protecting kids from social media.

Concerns over the mental health effects of social media platforms on younger users have been mounting and government bodies have been increasingly taking action. A bill similar to the one in New York has been proposed in California. This year Australia became the first nation to ban social media for children, with Denmark soon to follow.

Last year the US surgeon general said social media should come with warning labels and highlighted data associating social media use with increased anxiety and depression in youth. The risks of social media use on children's mental health are multifactorial and are still being studied.

We've reached out to Meta, Snap and TikTok for comment and will update if we hear back. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/new-york-state-will-require-warning-labels-on-social-media-platforms-210306716.html?src=rss

US Surgeon General says that social media, like cigarettes, should come with warning labels

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The US Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, says that social media should come with warning labels about its potential health impacts much like warnings on cigarettes and other tobacco products. In an op-ed in The New York Times, Murthy says that social media is an “important contributor” to the teen mental health crisis.

“It is time to require a surgeon general’s warning label on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents,” Murthy wrote. “A surgeon general’s warning label, which requires congressional action, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe.”

It’s not the first time Murthy has raised mental health concerns surrounding social media. Last year, he issued an advisory that made similar arguments last year, saying that social media posed a “profound risk” to teen mental health. In his latest op-ed, Murthy cited a study showing that higher social media use was associated with an increased risk for anxiety and depression, as well as a survey where almost half of teens reported that “social media makes them feel worse about their bodies.”

As Murthy notes, warning labels can’t happen without cooperation from Congress. And it's unclear what kind of support he might have for such a measure, though lawmakers around the country have shown some support for things like age verification laws as they look to crack down on social media companies over teen safety issues. 

He also points out that warning labels alone wouldn’t make social media safer, but would help better inform parents, schools, doctors and others. “There is no seatbelt for parents to click, no helmet to snap in place, no assurance that trusted experts have investigated and ensured that these platforms are safe for our kids,” he wrote. “There are just parents and their children, trying to figure it out on their own, pitted against some of the best product engineers and most well-resourced companies in the world.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/us-surgeon-general-says-that-social-media-like-cigarettes-should-come-with-warning-labels-171005572.html?src=rss

eBay will pay $59 million to settle DOJ suit over pill press machine sales

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Online commerce platform eBay will pay $59 million to settle allegations from the Justice Department that it assisted in the sale of pill press machines, which are used to manufacture both legitimate and counterfeit prescription medications. The platform sold thousands of these presses, along with other products to create pills, such as molds, stamps, dies and encapsulating machines. For the uninitiated, encapsulating machines are used to fill capsules with medication.

Pill press machines are used by legitimate pharmaceutical companies to manufacture medication, but they are also a required tool for making counterfeit pills. Criminals use these machines to make fake medications that look like actual prescription pills, typically for sale on the street or via the dark web. When combined with molds, stamps and dies, these fake pills will look exactly like the real McCoy, down to the logos and letters on each side. Additionally, these presses can whip up thousands of pills per hour. 

The issue here is that companies that facilitate the sale of pill presses and related equipment are required to verify the buyers’ identities and send records along to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to ensure the machines can be traced if used illegally. It looks like eBay shirked its duties here, which is a violation of the Controlled Substances Act.

“Through its website, eBay made it easy for individuals across the country to obtain the type of dangerous machines that are often used to make counterfeit pills," US Attorney Nikolas Kerest told ABC News.

eBay’s failure to follow “basic reporting and record keeping requirements” allowed people to "set up pill factories in their homes and to do so without detection,” added US Attorney Henry Leventis.

Beyond the hefty payout, eBay has agreed to comply with regulations moving forward, so information regarding each pill press machine sold, along with accessories, will be sent to the DEA for perusal. Additionally, many of the people who bought the machines on eBay have been charged in illegal counterfeit pills trafficking cases, according to the DOJ.

This is a big deal, because these counterfeit pills are often filled with all kinds of junk, including fentanyl. The synthetic opioid is largely responsible for the deadliest overdose crisis in US history, with nearly 74,000 people dying from fentanyl overdoses in 2022 alone. This drug accounts for more than two-thirds of overdose deaths in the US. You won’t fall into a coma by touching it, no matter what cops say, but you should still stay far, far away from the stuff.

As for eBay, this isn’t the first time the company had to pony up money to the DOJ. It recently had to pay $3 million to settle a truly bizarre cyberstalking case involving the shipment of live animals. The DOJ is also suing eBay for allowing the sale of aftermarket “defeat devices,” which bypass vehicle emission controls.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ebay-will-pay-59-million-to-settle-doj-suit-involving-over-pill-press-machine-sales-181919125.html?src=rss