Lib Dems push cigarette-style health warnings on social media and a doomscrolling cap to protect children

The Liberal Democrats unveiled a policy package to treat social media use as potentially addictive, proposing cigarette-style health warnings on apps and a two-hour daily cap on TikTok-style videos to curb youth usage. Victoria Collins, the party’s science and tech spokeswoman, is set to outline the plan at the Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth, arguing that social-media algorithms can be as addictive as a drug.

An accompanying Savanta poll for the party found broad evidence of impact on children. Some 80 per cent of parents said excessive phone usage affects their children’s behavior, with a quarter reporting that their offspring have difficulty sleeping after using devices too much. Eighteen per cent described changes in appetite, and 13 per cent said their children experienced eye strain or headaches. The survey also indicated social friction at home, with one in five parents quarrelling over excessive phone use, and 19 per cent noting their children had lost interest in hobbies or sports clubs in favor of spending more time on social platforms.

The policy package would require health warnings on social media apps, warning that extended exposure increases the risk of sleep disorders and mental-health conditions such as anxiety and depression. The warnings would be modeled on the plain-language alerts seen on other regulated products, the party says, and would accompany the platforms’ branding and content recommendations. In addition, the Lib Dem plan includes a so-called “doomscrolling cap” intended to end the infinite scroll experience by limiting the amount of time children can spend watching short-form video content to two hours per day.

Collins is expected to tell delegates that government action is needed to address what she calls a mental-health epidemic linked to the time young people spend online. She will say: “Just like cigarettes or alcohol, these addictive products carry well-documented risks, especially for young people. The Liberal Democrats are set to warn that social media should come with ‘cigarette-style’ health warnings. The evidence is clear that excessive use of these apps exposes children to mental-health issues, to anxiety, sleep disruption and to real harm to attention spans. Don’t they deserve to know that? When we pick up a pack of cigarettes or a bottle of wine, we expect to be told about the harm those products will pose to our health. So why is social media—the key driver of a crisis in young people’s mental health—any different?”

The Lib Dems’ approach parallels earlier discussions in the United States, where former President Joe Biden explored similar health alerts after Surgeon General Vivek Murthy proposed warnings for social-media use. The party’s plan would also push for greater transparency around how algorithms curate addictive content and steer young users toward endless scrolling. Collins is expected to argue that the government must act to protect children from the most harmful aspects of digital life while preserving the benefits of online connectivity.

Campaign officials say the proposals are part of a broader effort to reform digital-age safeguards, balancing innovation with public health. They emphasize that the focus is on protecting minors, while leaving adult–approval settings and parental controls as part of a wider toolkit. If adopted, the policies would require platforms to implement age-appropriate warnings and to build in time-management features for younger users, alongside possible regulatory measures to ensure that the most addictive mechanisms are subject to ongoing review. The Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth serves as the platform for these announcements, signaling a potential shift in how political parties frame tech influence on youth well-being.