NYC leaders push package to limit youth social media use, cite mental-health harms

NEW YORK — New York City Council leaders and committee chairs on Tuesday unveiled a legislative package aimed at curbing the harms social media poses to young people, arguing that platforms’ design and business models have contributed to a rise in adolescent anxiety and depression.

"Last week our city experienced a heartbreaking loss with the tragic death of Jaden Pierre," Speaker Julie Menin said in opening remarks, urging officials to "double down on efforts to prevent these senseless deaths from occurring." She framed the effort as a consumer-protection problem and said the council would prioritize youth safety over corporate profit.

Council Member Shekar Krishnan, chair of the Council’s Committee on Oversight and Investigations, accused major platforms of engineering features that maximize engagement among children and described a pending city lawsuit. "The lawsuit alleges that the companies deliberately designed, marketed, and distributed their platforms to maximize engagement among children, creating a public nuisance," he said.

Joanne Kim, assistant director of community and volunteer management at the Korean American Family Services Center, described clients who "come to us after experiencing harassment, stalking, and intimidation online" and urged the council to adopt the proposals. Kim said her organization supports a 1-hour daily cap, a ban on targeted ads to minors and stronger accountability measures.

Council Member Althea Stevens, chair of the Committee on Children and Youth and sponsor of the bills, said the package is intended as a starting point shaped by young people and two years of outreach. "We are exploring steps like limiting daily media use, restricting targeted ads to minors, and requiring deeper reporting on mental health impacts from these platforms," Stevens said. She stressed that implementation must account for young people who lack parental oversight: "What happens to young people who are on foster care? What happens to young people who are homeless and runaway youth?" she asked, urging policies that protect youth regardless of parental consent.

Council Member Tiffany Caban, chair of the Committee on Mental Health and Disabilities, acknowledged that social media can provide connection for some youth but said clinical research ties heavy use to addiction-like patterns and sleep disruption. "For many young people, social media can be a lifeline," she said, while also warning of significant risks to mental health.

During a brief question-and-answer period, a participant asked how the 1-hour cap’s parental-consent exceptions would work. Speakers said some platforms already offer "tethering" to parent accounts as a verification method but acknowledged that such mechanisms can exclude foster youth, homeless youth and others without reliable parental access. Council members said they plan to work with young people, parents and tech companies to refine age-verification and safeguard provisions.

Speakers also noted the new proposals predate and differ from a recent school cell-phone ban, saying removing phones from classrooms does not eliminate students’ access to social media through other devices or after school hours. The chairs said they had issued a letter inviting social media CEOs to testify at the hearing and said they expected the companies to comply; no platforms testified at the press conference.

The package contains multiple components intended to address platform design, advertising practices and reporting on youth mental-health impacts. The council provided no enforcement timeline at the event and took no formal votes; sponsors said the process will be iterative and that additional hearings and stakeholder consultations will follow.

The council’s announcement comes as the city moves forward with litigation against multiple platforms and amid broader national scrutiny of how social networks affect young people’s mental health.