Stop the Scroll Act

The 'Stop the Scroll Act' (S.1885) was introduced in the Senate on May 22, 2025, by Senator Britt (R-AL) and co-sponsored by Senator Fetterman, among others. It was subsequently read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. The bill aims to require the Federal Trade Commission, with the concurrence of the Surgeon General, to implement mental health warning labels on covered social media platforms. This action is based on findings that social media use is associated with risks to mental health and that warning labels can increase awareness and influence behavior. This bill does not authorize or appropriate any direct funding. Instead, it creates a new regulatory requirement for social media companies. The financial impact will stem from increased operational costs associated with implementing and maintaining these warning labels, as well as potential decreases in user engagement and advertising revenue. The bill's mechanism is regulatory, imposing a compliance burden rather than providing financial incentives or direct allocations. Structural losers under this legislation are social media platforms that rely heavily on user engagement and advertising revenue. Companies like Meta Platforms, Inc. ($META), Alphabet Inc. ($GOOGL) through its YouTube platform, Snap Inc. ($SNAP), and Pinterest, Inc. ($PINS) would face direct impacts. The bill's intent is to reduce extended use, which directly threatens the business models of these companies that thrive on user time spent on their platforms. The current market data shows that over the last 30 days, $META is down 13.25%, $GOOGL is down 0.3%, $SNAP is down 11.8%, and $PINS is down 7.59%, indicating a general negative trend for these companies, though the 7-day changes show some recent recovery. As of April 7, 2026, the bill is in the early stages of the legislative process, having only been referred to committee. The next steps would involve committee hearings, potential markups, and a vote in the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. If it passes committee, it would then proceed to a vote on the Senate floor. Given its bipartisan sponsorship (R-AL and D-PA), there is some indication of potential cross-party support, but its passage is not guaranteed.