NetChoice has sued New York over a law requiring certain social media platforms to display repeated mental-health warnings, asking a federal court to block the measure before it takes effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
The internet trade group filed its complaint against New York Attorney General Letitia James on Nov. 13 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. It argues that the state violates the First Amendment by compelling platforms to deliver a government-written message, and seeks a declaration that the law is unlawful and an order preventing its enforcement.
Under the amended law, a platform is covered if an addictive feed, autoplay or infinite scroll makes up a significant part of its service. On a covered user’s first visit each day when an addictive feature is provided, the platform must show a warning that cites the Surgeon General, notes possible benefits for some young users and says excessive use may be associated with significant mental-health harms. It must stay visible for at least 10 seconds and take up at least 25% of the screen.
After three hours of cumulative active use, platforms must display the warning at least once per hour. Those later warnings must remain for at least 30 seconds, occupy at least 75% of the screen and cannot be skipped. Operators may omit the warning if they reasonably determine a user is over 17.
New York enacted the measure in December 2025 and amended it in February 2026, setting the warning’s wording and display rules. The state’s announcement presented the law as a youth mental-health measure. The 2023 U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory cited potential risks alongside possible benefits and said available evidence was not yet sufficient to determine whether social media was sufficiently safe for children and adolescents.
The lawsuit follows a Colorado case in which a federal judge preliminarily blocked a similar warning requirement in November 2025, finding NetChoice likely to succeed on its First Amendment challenge. NetChoice also filed a separate challenge to California’s warning-label law in October 2026.
