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Surgeon General Calls For Warning Labels On Social Media Apps; Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown Discusses Governor Pardoning 175K-Plus Marijuana Convictions; Putin To Visit North Korea As Anti- West Alignment Deepens. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired June 17, 2024 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[14:30:56]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: The U.S. surgeon general is calling on Congress to put a warning label on social apps similiter to the labels that you see on tobacco products.

In his op-ed for "The New York Times," Vivek Murthy calls the mental health crisis among young people an "emergency." And he cites social media as a major contributor.

Murthy pointed to a study that showed teens who spend three hours a day on social media double their risk of depression and anxiety symptoms.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: But according to a recent Gallup poll, teens spend nearly five hours a day on those apps.

Speaking to NBC this morning, Murthy said warning labels would help remind parents and teens that social media has not been proven safe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIVEK MURTHY, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: Not only have companies not demonstrated that their platforms are safe for kids, but there's growing evidence of harm. That's really deeply concerning to me, not just as a surgeon general, but as a parent myself.

Now a warning label would help parents to understand these risks. Many parents don't know that those risks exist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And joining us now is child safety advocate and the founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, Jim Steyer.

Jim, great to have you on this.

I think so many parents wonder about this. What kind of impact do you think a warning label would have?

JIM STEYER, FOUNDER AND CEO, COMMON SENSE MEDIA: I think it will have a huge impact. And kudos to Dr. Murthy for having the courage to come out and say this.

He's absolutely right that we have a major youth mental health crisis in this country. Social media is clearly a huge contributing factor to that. And calling for a warning label is a major step forward.

SANCHEZ: Let's talk about what might get in the way of that effort, namely Congress. You need congressional approval to implement that surgeon general's warning label.

And Congress, as we've discussed before, they've failed to really take any meaningful steps to regulate social media companies. Why do you think that is? And do you think they might sign off on this warning?

STEYER: Great question, Boris. And first of all, yes, Congress has been totally missing an action for 20 years on social media. Shame on them for that.

But the bottom line is this is a really good idea, for society, for parents, for young people. And the truth is a warning label will be very effective. Congress just has to pass legislation. So maybe they can actually stand up and do their job for once on this.

And the truth is it will help parents understand the potential negative impacts. You gave the statistics, Brianna, earlier. About five hours a day for kids who are really dealing with social, emotional and cognitive issues because of social media.

So a warning label helps the average parent understand this is like tobacco. You really have to be worried about this.

Remember, there are no seat belts for social media that you can just click on your kid. So they're being exposed to all sorts of challenging mental health issues because of their social media experiences.

So a warning label from the surgeon general is a great idea. Congress has to do its job, though, Boris, and pass a law for this.

KEILAR: How do you think the social media companies would respond to this?

STEYER: They're not going to like it, Brianna. But the truth is, what have they done? Again, we work with all of them. We're the biggest group in the country on these issues. And we work with them. Some are more responsive than others.

I actually think that they're not going to like it. Because it will remind people that their products can be addictive and that those platforms can have a negative impact on young people's sense of self and self-esteem. But also anxiety and depression, things like that.

They're not going to like it. And obviously, they spend hundreds of millions of dollars lobbying against the legislation.

One thing that I think it's important for your viewers to remember is that major legislation does get passed. Here in California, where I am right now, and work, where Common Sense Media is based, also in Europe.

So I actually do believe that legislation and regulation will happen even if Congress doesn't act, which it's failed to do for nearly 20 years.

The state levels will happen. We just passed a big bill in New York last week about social media. And I also think you'll see it elsewhere.

[14:35:00]

So there is a movement here that, even though the social media companies may not like it, the Instagrams, et cetera, may not like this kind of legislation, parents want it, we want it, and it's plain common sense.

SANCHEZ: Let's say it doesn't happen, at least at a national level. It's now been, as you pointed out, essentially, your generation of people that have been around social media and obviously young kids that are very eager to use it. Five hours a day is kind of a crazy statistic.

STEYER: Right.

SANCHEZ: What happens if we don't have these guardrails for kids and another generation passes having social media the way that it is now?

STEYER: Boris, such a great question. First of all, parents can do a lot in terms of just talking with our kids. We're big believers here at Common Sense -- we have 1.3 million future members. Most of the schools in the United States use our digital literacy curriculum.

I would tell you schools can educate people. And they could basically say to kids, we should be telling every kid that there's a warning label. This is like tobacco. They need to be aware of it.

But the other thing I think that we can see is states like California and New York can take the lead.

So we'll be introducing legislation probably in Congress to see if they'll affirm this warning label idea that the surgeon generals recommended. But we'll also introduce legislation in California and New York.

And so, once you start to see that snowball happening at the state level, then we can have real progress for the kids and families who -- in this country who deserve that kind of guardrails that you're referring to.

KEILAR: All right, let's talk about some guard rails. Because the surgeon general is pointing out the warning label, it's not enough to fix the problem.

He's also urging, of course, parental involvement, creating phone-free environments, restricting kids' social media until they graduate from middle school. What would you say to parents whose kids are in that five-hour range at kind of a young age who are attached to social media already? How do you change that relationship?

STEYER: Brianna, great question. First of all, I'm the parent of four kids, myself, who probably wouldn't agree with everything their dad says about social media. But actually, the older they've gotten, the more they do agree with me.

I think what you say to parents is, you can really enforce rules and that you have to, even if the social media companies themselves are pushing this through algorithms on your kids 24/7.

You need to, as you just mentioned, and as the surgeon general has said, you have to have device-free zones. We run a big campaign called Device Free Dinner at Common Sense. So you have to remind your kids not to sleep with their cell phones.

And I actually think waiting and delaying giving your kid a phone is great practice. We did that in the Steyer family. Our kids didn't love it, but it turned out to be a really good move.

And I would recommend that parents do that. That schools talk constantly to the students themselves and also to parents, bodies at their schools about the risk associated with social media.

Look our kids love platforms like Instagram and TikTok and YouTube, and they're going to be on that. But the more they're educated about the downsides the better.

And young people are smart. We have hundreds of millions of users and they talk a lot about how much social media has a negative influence on their lives. So kids are smart. Teenagers are smart.

So we just have to keep reinforcing to them common sense, balanced use of social media. Put your phone away, sort of the basic stuff that is part of parenting in this new digital age.

If we do that, then we're going to go along -- we'll be a long way down the road. And a warning label would just be a really good added fact.

KEILAR: All right. Jim, we're out of time, but just right quick, what was the age that you restricted them until?

STEYER: We didn't give them the phone until they finished eighth grade.

KEILAR: All right.

STEYER: And we were very clear with them about -- by the way, now they're grateful for that.

And, Brianna, I would tell you that I think the other thing is, is talking to your kids about what they're experiencing on social media.

KEILAR: Yes.

STEYER: Because there's a lot of positive stuff that you can experience. But there's so many negatives.

KEILAR: Yes.

STEYER: To be continued. These are -- it's a really important moment, I think, for our country when the surgeon general has the courage to come out and say something like that.

KEILAR: Yes. We'll keep talking about this. It's essential.

Jim, great to have you. Thank you so much.

STEYER: Thank you, Brianna, Boris.

[14:39:17]

KEILAR: So new today, Maryland's governor just pardoned more than 175,000 marijuana convictions. What is behind the mass clemency? Next.

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[14:43:46]

KEILAR: An historic move. Today, Maryland's Democratic governor pardoning more than 175,000 marijuana convictions in his state. The mass clemency forgives low-level misdemeanor cannabis possession charges for about 100,000 people in Maryland.

The move comes more than two years after the state approved legalizing recreational marijuana for people 21 and older.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. WES BROWN (D-MD): And if you look at the past, you see how policies have been intentionally deployed to hold back entire communities. We're talking about tools that have led to the mass incarceration of black men and boys.

We're talking about tools that have led to restricted access to jobs and housing in minority communities. We're talking about tools that have led to an eight-to-one racial wealth gap in our state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And let's talk about this more now with Maryland's Attorney General Anthony Brown.

Sir, thank you so much for being with us.

We heard a little bit there from the governor, but just tell us a bit about what the effect of these convictions has been on the daily lives of so many people.

[14:45:00] ANTHONY BROWN, (D), MARYLAND ATTORNEY GENERAL: Sure, Brianna. Thanks for having me on.

You know, when I speak with people who are impacted, that have had conviction for low-level cannabis crimes, of the difficulties they have when they apply for a job, the difficulties they have when they apply for housing, the difficulties they have when they apply for certain educational opportunity. So it's been a real barrier for some.

And I know it's hard to understand that for people who don't have records. But speak with and spend time with someone who does and you'll understand that a conviction, and a conviction for low-level drug, a crime like possession of a small amount of marijuana, has been a showstopper for so many people in so many ways.

KEILAR: And what about the timing of this? Can you tell us about the connection to Juneteenth?

BROWN: Well, it's certainly symbolic. I mean, Juneteenth, where we acknowledge the freedom of all black Americans after the Civil War. It came late to African-Americans in Texas.

And some can say that this pardon, while governor more certainly acted in a very unprecedented and expeditious way, it's been late in coming for America and for African-Americans.

So we're excited. We're going to celebrate June -- Juneteenth on Wednesday. And today, we celebrate the pardon of 175,000 convictions in Maryland.

KEILAR: Right now, there are 24 states and also D.C., which have legalized marijuana for adult recreational use. And 38 states allow medical use.

But of course, marijuana is still federally illegal. What problems do you encounter when you have this patchwork of laws?

BROWN: Surely, having spent time in Congress, I appreciate the value of Congress acting so that we have one sort of standard across the country when it comes to decriminalizing and allowing for the adult lawful use of cannabis.

But this is what we've done in Maryland. And as a result, we're able to pardon convictions today. As a result, we're able to create opportunities as the cannabis industry takes off and to ensure that communities that were negatively impacted during the war on drugs will now benefit from the lawful use of cannabis.

And then we can take those state revenues and invest in communities that were so hard hit during the war on drugs.

So this is a hopeful day in Maryland. We have challenges with the federal government not acting to take a cannabis off the schedule, or certainly Schedule One.

But notwithstanding that, Maryland and other states continue to move forward.

KEILAR: We see this movement, right, to forgive convictions like this, or to reclassify these drugs in many cases, in many states. It doesn't mean -- and federally.

But it doesn't mean any changes when it comes to policy for troops and veterans. You're a veteran. Governor Moore is also an Army combat veteran.

There's a large military presence in your state. Does this need to change?

BROWN: I think it does. I mean, certainly, you point out an important area, in the military.

Certainly, no one would expect a soldier to be intoxicated or under the influence of any alcohol or drugs while they're performing their duties. But that a soldier would be discharged for the lawful use of cannabis in Maryland, I think is hypocritical.

The same can be said for a commercial truck driver who could lose their license because, in Maryland, they now can lawfully use or consume cannabis. But their license would be taken away from this.

So all of this just cries out for help, for relief, for action at the federal level to ensure that we've got a consistent standard. We recognize that cannabis can be regulated, much like alcohol and tobacco is throughout this country. And the Congress needs to act.

KEILAR: Attorney General Anthony Brown, we'll have to see if they do here in the coming years. A lot of people focused on this issue.

Thanks for being with us.

BROWN: Thanks, Brianna.

KEILAR: And tonight on "THE SOURCES,", Maryland Governor Wes Moore will be joining Kaitlan Collins. That will air at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

[14:49:18]

And we'll be right back.

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[14:53:31]

SANCHEZ: It's a trip that's raising international concerns. Russian President Vladimir Putin is heading to North Korea on Tuesday for a two-day visit, a country that Putin has been visited and more than two decades.

And it's coming at a key moment for North Korean President Kim Jong- Un, who hasn't hosted any other world leaders since the Covid pandemic. Let's turn live now to CNN's Matthew Chance, who's in Moscow for us.

Matthew, what else are you learning about this trip?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're right, Boris, it's coming at a crucial time because Russia is continuing to press its conflict in eastern Ukraine.

And it's been dependent on ammunition supplies from North Korean factories to keep up its rate of fire, shooting about 10,000 artillery rounds every day.

It can't keep up with production with its own factories so it's having to talk -- to depend on North Korea to send it millions of rounds, according to U.S. officials, to help it support that rate of fire.

Something, by the way, that the -- both the Russians and the North Koreans deny. But many of the other governments, including the United States and the South Koreans, other U.S. allies, feel that this is what is actually happening.

From the North Korean point of view, well, obviously, they need food and energy. It's an impoverished country and Russia can supply that.

But the big concern is that Russia may also supply ballistic missile technology, even nuclear technology, to that threatening Korean Peninsula state, something the Kremlin says it won't do and hasn't even been asked to do.

[14:55:03]

But again, that is the concern as this relationship between President Putin of Russia and Kim Jong-Un of North Korea seems to get ever closer with this two-day trip, which is planned for later this week -- Boris?

SANCHEZ: We will be watching closely, as I'm sure many other leaders around the world will in Beijing and here in the United States.

Matthew Chance, live for us from Moscow, thank you so much.

So, Speaker Mike Johnson is spending part of his House recess in Florida meeting with Donald Trump as Republican primaries are heating up. Another hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts after this quick break.

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[15:00:08]

KEILAR: With only 10 days until the presidential debate here on CNN, Joe Biden.