Christine Mui

An idea percolating all summer in the big national argument about social media—warning labels to help reduce the harms of online platforms to kids—has suddenly landed in Congress. Sens. Katie Britt (R-AL) and John Fetterman (D-PA) introduced a bill requiring platforms to add those labels.

It’s been a heated summer for school cell phone bans. Worried politicians and school districts in several states have been swarming to limit cell phone use during class time. In all, seven states have banned or restricted cellphone use in schools, and fourteen have introduced bills doing the same. Among the bills underway is California’s Phone-Free Schools Act, which cleared the state legislature in August and is expecting the governor’s signature.