Back to Wisconsin

AB960 • 2025

requiring social media platforms to provide mental health warnings and providing a penalty

requiring social media platforms to provide mental health warnings and providing a penalty

Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor
Representatives Mayadev, Brill, Joers, Billings, Allen, Armstrong, Behnke, Brown, Clancy, DeSmidt, Emerson, Fitzgerald, Knodl, Miresse, O'Connor, Ortiz-Velez, Prado, Rivera-Wagner, Roe, Sinicki, Snodgrass, Taylor, Udell, Stubbs and Neubauer, cosponsored by Senators Jacque, Habush Sinykin, Roys, Wall, Hesselbein and Larson
Last action
2026-03-23
Official status
A - Mental Health and Substance Abuse Prevention
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

requiring social media platforms to provide mental health warnings and providing a penalty

requiring social media platforms to provide mental health warnings and providing a penalty Status: A - Mental Health and Substance Abuse Prevention

What This Bill Does

  • requiring social media platforms to provide mental health warnings and providing a penalty Status: A - Mental Health and Substance Abuse Prevention

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-23 Asm.

    Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

  2. 2026-02-26 Asm.

    Representative Subeck added as a coauthor

  3. 2026-02-13 Asm.

    Representative Vining added as a coauthor

  4. 2026-02-10 Asm.

    Representative Johnson added as a coauthor

  5. 2026-02-06 Asm.

    Representative DeSanto added as a coauthor

  6. 2026-02-02 Asm.

    Representative Palmeri added as a coauthor

  7. 2026-01-30 Asm.

    Senator Spreitzer added as a cosponsor

  8. 2026-01-29 Asm.

    Introduced by Representatives Mayadev , Brill , Joers , Billings , Allen , Armstrong , Behnke , Brown , Clancy , DeSmidt , Emerson , Fitzgerald , Knodl , Miresse , O'Connor , Ortiz-Velez , Prado , Rivera-Wagner , Roe , Sinicki , Snodgrass , Taylor , Udell , Stubbs and Neubauer ; cosponsored by Senators Jacque , Habush Sinykin , Roys , Wall , Hesselbein and Larson

  9. 2026-01-29 Asm.

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse Prevention

Official Summary Text

requiring social media platforms to provide mental health warnings and providing a penalty
Status: A - Mental Health and Substance Abuse Prevention

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
Wisconsin Legislature: AB960: Bill Text

Skip navigation

Home

Documents

Senate

Assembly

Committees

Service Agencies

Docs

Options

Help

2025 Biennium

Statutes

Admin. Rules

Indices

Miscellaneous

Archives

Home

Bill, Rule, and Appointment Histories

Senators

Representatives

Committees

Text of Introduced Proposals

Amendment Text

Acts

Veto Messages

Enrolled Bills

Votes

Assembly and Senate Floor Calendars

Schedule of Committee Activities

Assembly and Senate Journals

Committee Records (ROCPs)

Legislative Rules

All Session-Related Documents

Subject Index to Acts

Subject Index to Legislation

Subject Index to Journals

Author Index to Legislation

Subject Index to Clearinghouse Rules

Miscellaneous Budget Documents

Executive Orders

Rulings of the Chair

Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules

Opinions of the Attorney General

Town Law Forms

Law

Districts

Session

Drafting Files

Feeds

Preferences

Show tree

Hide tree

Feedback

Help

Home

Senate Home

Senators

Committees

Session

Chief Clerk

Sergeant at Arms

Civics Education

Human Resources
Assembly Home

Representatives

Committees

Session

Chief Clerk

Sergeant at Arms

Human Resources
Schedule

Joint

Senate

Assembly

Study
Legislative Audit Bureau

Legislative Council

Legislative Fiscal Bureau

Legislative Human Resources Office

Legislative Reference Bureau

Legislative Technology Services Bureau

Menu
»
2025
»
Related Documents
»
Proposal Text
»
AB960: Bill Text

Up

Up

2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
LRB-5578/1
ARG:skw&cjs
2025 ASSEMBLY BILL 960
January 29, 2026 - Introduced by Representatives
Mayadev
,
Brill
,
Joers
,
Billings
,
Allen
,
Armstrong
,
Behnke
,
Brown
,
Clancy
,
DeSmidt
,
Emerson
,
Fitzgerald
,
Knodl
,
Miresse
,
O'Connor
,
Ortiz-Velez
,
Prado
,
Rivera-Wagner
,
Roe
,
Sinicki
,
Snodgrass
,
Taylor
,
Udell
,
Stubbs
and
Neubauer
, cosponsored by Senators
Jacque
,
Habush Sinykin
,
Roys
,
Wall
,
Hesselbein
and
Larson
. Referred to Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse Prevention.
AB960,1,3
1
An Act

to create
100.72 and 227.01 (13) (zm) of the statutes;
relating to:

2
requiring social media platforms to provide mental health warnings and
3
providing a penalty.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill generally requires a social media platform to ensure that a mental health warning label appears each time a user accesses the social media platform and disappears only when the user exits the social media platform or acknowledges the potential for harm and chooses to proceed. The mental health warning label must be conspicuous, warn the user of potential negative mental health effects of accessing the social media platform, and provide the user access to certain resources to address these effects. The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, in consultation with the Department of Health Services, must develop guidelines containing requirements for these warning labels. The guidelines may allow users to disable the warning label under circumstances specified in the guidelines.
Under the bill, DATCP or the Department of Justice may investigate violations of the bill’s provisions and bring a civil action in which it may obtain against a violating social media platform any combination of the following relief: a forfeiture of up to $5,000 for each violation; temporary or permanent injunctive relief; restitution to any person who suffered loss as a direct or indirect result of the violation; and disgorgement of any money the social media platform received as a direct or indirect result of the violation. In addition, a person who directly or indirectly suffers injury as a result of a violation of the bill’s provisions may bring a civil action against the violating social media platform for any combination of the following relief: damages directly or indirectly resulting from the violation, including physical and emotional harm; punitive damages; temporary or permanent injunctive relief; and reasonable attorney fees and costs.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
AB960,1
1
Section

1
.
100.72 of the statutes is created to read:
AB960,2,3
2
100.72

Mental health warnings on social media platforms.

(1)

3
Definitions.
In this section:
AB960,2,9
4
(a) 1. Except as provided in subd. 2., “social media platform” means an
5
electronic medium, including a browser-based or application-based interactive
6
computer service, website, telephone network, or data network, that allows an
7
account holder to create, share, and view user-generated content for a substantial
8
purpose of social interaction, sharing user-generated content, or personal
9
networking.
AB960,2,10
10
2. “Social media platform” does not include any of the following:
AB960,2,11
11
a. An Internet search provider.
AB960,2,12
12
b. An Internet service provider.
AB960,2,13
13
c. An email service.
AB960,2,17
14
d. A streaming service, online video game, e-commerce platform, or other
15
website on which the content is not user generated but that has interactive
16
functions that enable chat, comments, reviews, or other interactive functionality
17
incidental to, directly related to, and dependent upon providing the content.
AB960,3,3
18
e. A communication service, including text, audio, or video communication
1
technology, provided by a business to the business’s employees and clients for use in
2
the course of business activities and not for public distribution, except a
3
communication service provided by a social media platform, as defined in subd. 1.
AB960,3,5
4
f. An advertising network with the sole function of delivering commercial
5
content.
AB960,3,6
6
g. A telecommunications carrier, as defined in
47 USC 153
(51).
AB960,3,7
7
h. A broadband Internet access service, as defined in
47 CFR 8.1 (b)
.
AB960,3,8
8
i. A single-purpose community group for education or public safety.
AB960,3,12
9
j. A teleconferencing or video-conferencing service that allows reception and
10
transmission of audio and video signals for real-time communication, except a
11
teleconferencing or video-conferencing service provided by a social media platform,
12
as defined in subd. 1.
AB960,3,14
13
k. A cloud computing service, including a service providing cloud storage and
14
shared document collaboration.
AB960,3,15
15
L. Providing or obtaining technical support for a platform, product, or service.
AB960,3,20
16
m. A platform designed primarily and specifically for creative professional
17
users, as distinct from the general public, to share the creative professional user’s
18
portfolio and creative content, engage in professional networking, acquire clients,
19
and market the creative professional user’s creative content and creative services
20
through facilitated transactions.
AB960,3,22
21
(b) “User” means an individual who is located in this state and who holds an
22
account or profile with a social media platform.
AB960,4,3
23
(2)

Warning label required.
(a) Subject to par. (c) 3. and sub. (3), a social
24
media platform shall ensure that a conspicuous mental health warning label that
1
complies with the requirements under this section appears each time a user
2
accesses the social media platform and disappears only when the user does any of
3
the following:
AB960,4,4
4
1. Exits the social media platform.
AB960,4,6
5
2. Acknowledges the potential for harm and chooses to proceed to the social
6
media platform despite the risk.
AB960,4,7
7
(b) A mental health warning label under par. (a) shall do all of the following:
AB960,4,10
8
1. Warn the user, in a manner that conforms with the guidelines established
9
under sub. (3), of potential negative mental health effects of accessing the social
10
media platform.
AB960,4,14
11
2. Provide the user access to resources to address the potential negative
12
mental health effects described in subd. 1. and include the website and telephone
13
number of a national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline system,
14
including the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline.
AB960,4,15
15
(c) A social media platform may not do any of the following:
AB960,4,17
16
1. Display the warning label under par. (a) only in the social media platform’s
17
terms and conditions.
AB960,4,19
18
2. Include extraneous information in the warning label under par. (a) that
19
obscures the visibility or prominence of the warning label.
AB960,4,21
20
3. Allow a user to disable the warning label under par. (a), except as provided
21
in par. (a) 2. or in the guidelines under sub. (3).
AB960,4,23
22
4. Display the warning label under par. (a) at times or for durations not
23
specified in the guidelines under sub. (3).
AB960,5,2
1
5. Use design features intended to undermine or subvert the purpose of this
2
section.
AB960,5,6
3
6. Withhold, degrade, lower the quality of, or increase the price of any product,
4
service, or feature provided or offered to a user as a result of the social media
5
platform’s display of a warning label under par. (a), except as necessary to comply
6
with requirements under this section or other state or federal law.
AB960,5,16
7
(3)

Content of warning label.
The department, in consultation with the
8
department of health services, shall develop social media platform guidelines that
9
contain appropriate requirements for the warning labels required under sub. (2) (a).
10
The guidelines shall be based on current evidence regarding the negative mental
11
health effects of social media platforms. The guidelines shall include display
12
requirements for the information required under sub. (2) (b) 2. The guidelines may
13
allow users to disable the warning label under sub. (2) (a) and, if the guidelines do
14
so, the guidelines shall specify the circumstances under which this is permitted.
15
The department and department of health services shall periodically review and,
16
as appropriate, revise the guidelines.
AB960,5,19
17
(4
)
Enforcement, penalty, and private cause of action.
(a) The
18
department or the department of justice may investigate an alleged violation of this
19
section.
AB960,5,22
20
(b) The department or the department of justice may bring a civil action in the
21
name of the state for a violation of this section and may obtain against a social
22
media platform that violates this section any combination of the following relief:
AB960,5,23
23
1. A forfeiture not exceeding $5,000 for each violation.
AB960,6,2
24
2. Temporary or permanent injunctive relief enjoining or restraining any act
1
or practice that is in violation of this section or otherwise enforcing compliance with
2
this section.
AB960,6,4
3
3. Restitution to any person who suffered loss as a direct or indirect result of
4
the violation.
AB960,6,6
5
4. Disgorgement of any money the social media platform received as a direct
6
or indirect result of the violation.
AB960,6,10
7
(c) A person who directly or indirectly suffers injury as a result of a violation
8
of this section may bring a civil action against the violating social media platform in
9
which the court may award to the person if the person prevails any combination of
10
the following relief:
AB960,6,12
11
1. Damages to the person directly or indirectly resulting from the violation,
12
including physical and emotional harm.
AB960,6,13
13
2. Punitive damages if circumstances warrant.
AB960,6,14
14
3. Temporary or permanent injunctive relief.
AB960,6,15
15
4. Notwithstanding s. 814.04 (1), court costs and reasonable attorney fees.
AB960,2
16
Section

2
.
227.01 (13) (zm) of the statutes is created to read:
AB960,6,17
17
227.01
(13)
(zm) Are guidelines issued under s. 100.72 (3).

Down

Down

/2025/related/proposals/ab960

true

proposaltext

/2025/related/proposals/ab960

proposaltext/2025/REG/AB960

proposaltext/2025/REG/AB960

section

true

Menu
»
2025
»
Related Documents
»
Proposal Text
»
AB960: Bill Text

×

Details for

PDF view

Link
(Permanent link)

Bookmark this location

View toggle

Go to top of document

Search in this chapter

Search in this section

Search in this agency

Search in this chapter group

Search in this chapter

Search in this section

Cross references for section

Acts affecting this section

References to this

1970 Statutes Annotations

Appellate Court Citations

Administrative Code Index

Reference lines

Clear highlighting