A bipartisan bill introduced in the House takes aim at social media’s impact on youth mental health, pushing for more data and pop-up ads to help parents set limitations.

HB 1136 would task the Colorado Department of Education with creating a resource bank of “evidence-based, research-based, and promising” program materials and curricula related to the mental impacts of social media on youth. The department would also be required to expand student wellness programs to address the impacts of technology and social media on mental health. 

The bill requires social media platforms to display pop-up warnings to users age 18 and younger when they have spent over an hour on social media within a 24-hour period.

The warnings must include a statement about data indicating kids who spend three or more hours on social media each day double their risk of experiencing poor mental health, along with a link to the aforementioned data. It must include a link to the platform’s page, where users can establish and manage screen time limits.  

This is the first legislation of its kind nationwide, according to House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, R-Colorado Springs, a sponsor of the bill.

“This is the first bill that actually looks at (the social media issue) from a mental health and education-for-parents perspective as opposed to just limiting access altogether,” she said. “This is giving parents the resources that they need so they can help their children as they’re navigating social media.”

Pugliese said the sponsors of the bill conducted extensive engagement to address any potential legal limitations in the bill’s language. She said she expects social media companies to be eager and willing to comply with the pop-up warning requirement outlined in the bill. 

“We’re not trying to put onerous or burdensome regulations (on companies),” she said. “We’re also trying to temper that with protecting kids. We think that this is a really balanced approach and thus far have not received pushback.” 

Rep. Judy Amabile, D- Estes Park, another sponsor of the bill, likened the pop-ups to warning labels found on harmful substances like cigarettes.

“The pop-ups are that warning label that you’ve been ‘smoking’ this social media for too long, and you should consider that it isn’t good for your health,” she said. 

Amabile also noted the bipartisan support the bill has garnered.

“This is not a partisan issue,” she said. “It’s about kids, and it’s about saying, ‘You should not profit off of something that you know is undermining their health.’ These social media companies need to be part of the solution.”

In the Senate, the bill is sponsored by Lisa Cutter, D- Evergreen and Jim Smallwood, R- Sedalia.

The bill will be considered by the House Education Committee on Feb. 22.