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H 823VERMONTSession 2025-2026State Billin committee

Vermont Bill Requires Social Media Platforms to Display Mental Health Warning Labels and Time-Use Pop-Ups

Original title: An act relating to social media warning labels

Last action · January 29, 2026: Read first time and referred to the Committee on Commerce and Economic DevelopmentSponsors: Angela Arsenault and 1 other

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

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What This Bill Would Do

Vermont lawmakers introduced a bill requiring social media operators to display mental health warning labels and time-use notifications for active users, taking effect July 1, 2027. The legislation tasks the Attorney General with developing label guidelines by April 1, 2027, and treats violations as unfair and deceptive trade practices.

Why it matters

Social media companies operating in the state would have to redesign interfaces to show readable warnings and periodic usage pop-ups, risking consumer protection enforcement actions and civil penalties for noncompliance.

Who It Would Affect

Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

social media platform operators

Operators must redesign applications and websites to incorporate readable mental health warning labels and timed usage notifications, facing potential consumer protection enforcement for violations.

Directly affected

social media users in Vermont

Users will encounter mental health warning labels upon accessing platforms and periodic pop-up notifications displaying their daily and active session time.

Key Facts

Social media platforms must display a readable mental health warning label each time a user accesses the platform, warning of negative mental health impacts and linking to crisis resources including the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Warning labels must remain visible until the user exits the platform or acknowledges the risk and chooses to hide or minimize the label.
Platforms are prohibited from placing warning labels exclusively within terms and conditions, obscuring them with extraneous information, or allowing users to permanently disable them.
Social media platforms must display a conspicuous pop-up notification at least once every 30 minutes of active use, showing consecutive and daily total time used.

Show all 8 facts

Users may customize the time-use notification interval, up to a maximum period of 60 minutes.
Violations of the warning label or notification requirements constitute an unfair and deceptive act in commerce under consumer protection laws.
The Attorney General, in consultation with the Commissioner of Health, must publish warning label guidelines based on current evidence on or before April 1, 2027.
The act takes effect on July 1, 2027, except for guideline development and effective date provisions taking effect July 1, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What must be included on the social media warning labels?

The labels must warn users of potential negative mental health impacts, provide access to support resources including the website and telephone number for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, and follow guidelines established by the Attorney General.

How often will time-use notifications appear while browsing?

Platforms must display a pop-up notification at least once every 30 minutes of active use, though users can customize this interval up to a maximum of 60 minutes.

What happens if a social media platform fails to comply?

A violation is treated as an , giving the Attorney General authority to conduct civil investigations, bring civil actions, make rules, and enter into assurances of discontinuance.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

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Where This Stands

Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.

Procedural history

1 action

Jan 29, 2026HouseIntroduced
Read first time and referred to the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift95% confidence

Expansion of Consumer Protection to Social Media Interfaces

The legislation expands traditional unfair and deceptive trade practices enforcement into digital user interface design and mental health disclosures.

Attorney General

Connected Entities

Attorney General, 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, Brattleboro and 2 more

OrganizationAttorney General“Tasked with developing warning label guidelines and enforcing violations”Map →

Organization988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline“Required crisis hotline system to be included in warning resources”Map →

locationBrattleboro“Represented by bill cosponsor Rep. Ian Goodnow”Map →

PersonCommissioner of Health“Consulted by the Attorney General for label guidelines”Map →

locationWilliston“Represented by bill sponsor Rep. Angela Arsenault”Map →

Sources

Open source document

legislature.vermont.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance65
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy75
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment10
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz50
Current news / social attention level

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