U.S. Surgeon General: We need to protect kids from social media risks immediately

Published

2 years ago

May 23, 2023

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United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy delivers remarks during a news conference with White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki at the White House in Washington, July 15, 2021.

Tom Brenner | Reuters

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned in a new advisory Tuesday that widespread social media use among kids and teens poses a significant mental health risk that needs to be addressed immediately.

Such advisories are “reserved for significant public health challenges that require the nation’s immediate awareness and action,” according to a report released by the Surgeon General’s office. The report is based on “a substantial review of the available evidence,” on the impact of social media.

It’s not the first time Murthy has called out social media as contributing to a public health threat. In 2021, he issued an advisory about the threat of Covid misinformation and called on social media companies to make changes that favor fact-based sources. He’s also previously said that age 13 is “too early” to use social media.

In the latest advisory, Murthy concedes that social media can have both positive and negative effects on kids. Social media is used almost universally among youth, the report says, with up to 95% of people between ages 13 and 17 reporting using it. The report says that social media use in kids and teens can result in both “heightened emotional sensitivity” that can lead to lower life satisfaction as well as positive spaces of community, information and self-expression. The sense of community young social media users may get online could be even more significant for kids from marginalized backgrounds, the report said.

“A majority of adolescents report that social media helps them feel more accepted (58%), like they have people who can support them through tough times (67%), like they have a place to show their creative side (71%), and more connected to what’s going on in their friends’ lives (80%),” according to the report.

Still, the downsides of social media use can also be impactful. It can lead to or exacerbate disordered eating, low self-esteem and depression, according to studies the Surgeon General’s office cited.

“At this time, we do not yet have enough evidence to determine if social media is sufficiently safe for children and adolescents,” the report says. “We must acknowledge the growing body of research about potential harms, increase our collective understanding of the risks associated with social media use, and urgently take action to create safe and healthy digital environments that minimize harm and safeguard children’s and adolescents’ mental health and well-being during critical stages of development.”

Some areas where the Surgeon General’s office calls for more research include distinguishing the impact on the health of in-person versus digital social interactions, what kind of content results in the most harm to young users and what factors can protect kids from harmful effects of social media use.

Even though more research is needed, the Surgeon General warns that action can’t wait.

“Our children and adolescents don’t have the luxury of waiting years until we know the full extent of social media’s impact. Their childhoods and development are happening now,” the report says. “At a moment when we are experiencing a national youth mental health crisis, now is the time to act swiftly and decisively to protect children and adolescents from risk of harm.”

The warning dovetails with calls from parents, Congress and the president to pass laws that will create greater protections for kids online. Still, figuring out how to do that without unintentionally creating new harms to self-expression or privacy can be challenging.

The Surgeon General lays out several recommendations for policymakers, tech companies, parents and caregivers, young social media users and researchers. They include:

For policymakers:

Create “age-appropriate health and safety standards.”
Require more data privacy protections for kids.
Fund future research.
Support digital and media literacy education in schools.
Require tech companies to share health-related data.

For tech companies:

Run independent assessments on the impact of their products on kids.
Share findings and underlying data with researchers.
Have timely systems to address complaints and requests from young users and their families and educators.
Prioritize health and safety in designing products.

For parents and caregivers:

Set expectations about how technology should be used.
Create “tech-free zones” like at dinner or before bedtime.
Create shared practices around social media with other parents.

For kids and teens:

Seek help if they or a friend are being harmed by social media, like by finding expert information on the Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health or by calling or texting the suicide hotline 988 if they or a friend are in crisis.
Be careful about sharing too much information on social media
Report online harassment or abuse.

For researchers:

Determine best practices for healthy social media use.
Create standardized definitions and measurements to discuss social media and mental health outcomes.
Determine the role of the developmental stage on the progression of poor mental health outcomes as a result of social media use.

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Technology

OpenAI is going big in India — here’s everything the ChatGPT developer is up to

Published

3 hours ago

September 4, 2025

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OpenAI is going big in India — here's everything the ChatGPT developer is up to

Open AI CEO Sam Altman speaks at the annual Snowflake Summit in San Francisco, California on June 02, 2025.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images

OpenAI is rapidly expanding its presence in India — one of the key markets for its flagship ChatGPT product.

India is an appealing destination for U.S. tech giants, with companies ranging from Google to Meta betting on its huge — and young — population over recent years.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman visited the country in February this year and met with the country’s IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to discuss collaboration. During the visit, Altman said India was OpenAI’s second-largest market by number of users.

He has subsequently said that AI adoption in India is “amazing to watch.”

“We love to see the explosion of creativity–india is outpacing the world,” he said on X earlier this year.

India is one of ChatGPT’s fastest-growing markets globally, Nick Patience, practice lead for AI at tech research and analysis firm Futurum Group, told CNBC. “OpenAI’s India focus is a strategic move to gain a competitive edge,” he added.

Here’s a rundown of how OpenAI is expanding in India.

ChatGPT explosion

ChatGPT, OpenAI’s core product, has seen strong growth in India. The app was downloaded 10.2 million times in India in August, a huge jump from the 2.5 million downloads seen during the same month last year, according to analytics firm Appfigures.

Since its launch, ChatGPT has 111 million downloads in India, ahead of its 80 million downloads in the U.S, Appfigures data shows.

Downloads do not necessarily equal daily or monthly users, but the figures emphasise OpenAI’s growth trajectory in the country.

The download numbers are also far ahead of rivals, including Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude. The closest challenger was Perplexity, Appfigures said, which had 6.4 million downloads in August.

India-specific product

User spending on ChatGPT has been increasing. To date, Indian users have spent $21.3 million on ChatGPT, Appfigures data shows. In comparison, U.S. users have spent $784 million.

That underlines the fact that while the number of users in India is huge, it remains a price-sensitive market.

To address this, OpenAI in August launched ChatGPT Go, a low-cost 399-rupees-($4.53)-a-month plan for its AI app.

ChatGPT Go launches in India: OpenAI must forge local partnerships to increase adoption

“It’s a classic wedge strategy to capture a price-sensitive market and build a user base that will be difficult for local players to dislodge later,” Futurum Group’s Patience said of the strategy.

Infrastructure and hiring

According to Bloomberg, OpenAI is scouting a location in India for a data center with at least 1-gigawatt capacity. The facility will be part of OpenAI’s Stargate-branded infrastructure push, Bloomberg said this week, although CNBC was unable to verify the report.

The ChatGPT developer said last month that it would open a local office in the market and is currently advertising three sales roles in India.

It also announced last month an education program in India that will include funding for research and provide half a million ChatGPT licenses for educators and students across the country.

India challenges

While India doesn’t have a home-grown artificial intelligence company as big as OpenAI, there are some challengers in the form of domestic startups, including Sarvam AI and Krutrim, and other American tech giants like Google and Meta.

Continued geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and India over trade, however, have the potential to cause complications if there’s any backlash from New Delhi against American tech firms.

OpenAI is also locked in a legal battle with Asian News International in India, which has accused the ChatGPT developer of using copyrighted material illegally. It’s a closely-watched case in the country for how copyright laws apply in the AI era.

“OpenAI’s success in India is not guaranteed and depends heavily on its ability to navigate these legal and political hurdles,” Futurum Group’s Patience said.

“While the Indian market is vast, its diversity in languages and user needs presents challenges. OpenAI’s ability to deliver a truly localized product and its long-term impact on India’s AI talent remain uncertain.”

Technology

Waymo to begin testing at San Jose airport this fall

Published

5 hours ago

September 4, 2025

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Waymo to begin testing at San Jose airport this fall

Waymo partners with Uber to bring robotaxi service to Atlanta and Austin.

Uber Technologies Inc.

Alphabet’s Waymo unit will begin test-driving robotaxis at its first California-based airport, the company said Thursday.

The autonomous car unit has been cleared to begin testing driverless rides at the San José Mineta International Airport in San Jose, California, this fall. Waymo said it plans to offer paid rides at the airport later this year.

“With San José at the epicenter of the biggest sporting events of 2026, Waymo is an ideal mode of transportation that will help visitors move around the area smoothly and safely,” San José Mayor Matt Mahan said in a release.

The vehicles will pick up passengers at the Ground Transportation Centers in Terminal A or B and roll out to locations in Waymo’s San Francisco Bay Area service area, according to the release.

Ex-Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor’s Sierra is the latest $10 billion AI startup

Published

7 hours ago

September 4, 2025

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Ex-Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor's Sierra is the latest billion AI startup

Bret Taylor, chairman of the board of directors of OpenAI, attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Bret Taylor’s artificial intelligence startup Sierra has just joined an exclusive club: The company sports a new $10 billion valuation after raising $350 million in fresh capital.

Sierra is one of just a handful of AI startups, including OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, Safe Superintelligence and Thinking Machines that are valued at or above $10 billion.

Investors are pouring money into this competitive group of companies in the hopes that they’ll eventually hit the public markets.

Taylor is the chairman of OpenAI’s board, and previously served as co-CEO of Salesforce alongside Marc Benioff. Taylor co-founded Sierra in 2023. The company builds and implements AI agents for customer service. AI agents can carry out tasks autonomously on behalf of their users.

Shares of Salesforce fell 5% Thursday after the company reported weak guidance and concerns lingered about how AI is affecting software companies.