'Negative impact': Fetterman introduces Stop the Scroll Act to target social media harms

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Sens. Fetterman, Britt seek 'Common Ground' tackling the harmful side effects of social media use

Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Katie Britt, R-Ala., discuss bipartisan efforts to protect children and teenagers using social media on 'Special Report.'

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., spoke on bipartisan legislation he introduced Tuesday to warn parents about the harmful effects of social media, saying his efforts are "common sense."

Fetterman and Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., introduced the Stop the Scroll Act to create mental health warning label requirements for social media platforms. 

The bipartisan act would ensure "all users, especially children and teens, are aware of the potential mental health risks associated with social media use" and would require social media companies to direct users toward mental health resources, according to a press release from Fetterman's office.

THE WAR TO SAVE OUR TEENS FROM SOCIAL MEDIA

Discussing the legislation Tuesday on "Special Report" shortly after it was introduced, Fetterman said he and Britt crossed the aisle to partner on the act because their duty as parents to protect their children supersedes any political differences they might have.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., walks through the Senate subway in the Capitol after a vote on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.  ((Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images))

"It's common sense," Fetterman told "Special Report" anchor and executive editor Bret Baier. "It's what a parent would want. If you have a person that's spending hours and hours every day with one of your kids, you would want to know who that person is about."

"I've witnessed that with my own children, the negative impact that it's had on them, even in myself too," he added. "It's a conversation that we would be having as a parent — let alone as a senator — so I think it's an entirely appropriate conversation that we should be having at a national level."

Fetterman previously revealed that social media made his battle with clinical depression more difficult, saying in a "Meet the Press" interview in 2023 that reading comments about him and his family was a major part of the depression that resulted in six weeks of hospitalization. 

"It’s an accelerant, absolutely," Fetterman said at the time.

SOCIAL MEDIA WARNINGS WON'T PROTECT KIDS, BUT SOMETHING ELSE WILL

Britt cited the mental health crisis among teenagers in the United States as her motivation for the bill.

U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) speaks on stage on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 15, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ((Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images))

"John and I are approaching this not just as senators, but as parents — and we believe that parents need all the information," she told Baier.

"When children are on social media, their rate of anxiety and depression increases," she added, noting that many children average five hours on social media per day. 

"It really is the defining issue right now for our children, and it's important that we do something — doing nothing is not an option," she said. 

"This is a bipartisan issue. This isn't Democrat or Republican — this is an American issue, and it's one that we've got to get ahead of because it's already ahead of us," she later added.

Britt and Fetterman established a relationship in the Senate prior to working on the bill, they said. Britt visited Fetterman during his hospitalization, and their families have remained close ever since, they told Baier.

"I think some people think that we must hate each other's guts in D.C., [saying], 'Oh, you're a Republican, I'm a Democrat,' but it's just not true. It couldn't be further from the truth," Fetterman said. 

Social media applications are seen on an iPhone screen in this illustration photo on 23 September, 2024. ((Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images))

The Stop the Scroll Act comes after U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for social media companies to be required to display mental health warnings to shield young people from "online harassment, abuse and exploitation and from exposure to extreme violence and sexual content that too often appears in algorithm-driven feeds."

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"The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency — and social media has emerged as an important contributor. Adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk of anxiety and depression symptoms, and the average daily use in this age group, as of the summer of 2023, was 4.8 hours. Additionally, nearly half of adolescents say social media makes them feel worse about their bodies," he wrote in a New York Times option article.