Massachusetts Senators on Thursday unveiled a proposal aimed at limiting youth exposure to addictive aspects of social media, one that differs dramatically from a social media ban the House has already passed.
The bill (S.3164) slated for Senate debate next week would require all social media platforms to adopt “default” settings for minors — or others who choose to opt into the settings — that limit things like algorithmic feeds, autoplay and “infinite scroll.” The bill also requires platforms to send users a reminder once they’ve been using the app for one cumulative hour within a 24-hour period. After that, platforms must send additional reminders every 30 minutes. Also, the bill would mandate that notifications be turned off between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m.
Minors under 18 would not be able to change the settings and the bill leans on the attorney general to identify age verification methods.
During a briefing with reporters Thursday, state Sen. Julian Cyr recalled that the social media, when he was in high school and college, “wasn’t an endless loop of algorithmic doom scrolling and a misinformation trap.”
“And in many respects, the provisions in the Senate bill aim to go back to the OG social media for young people, when it was actually … a network, not an addictive rabbit hole of curated content,” he said.
The bill is a Ways and Means redraft of legislation (S.30) that Sen. Cindy Creem sponsored. Members of the Senate Ways and Means Committee voted 14-0 to report out the new draft, with Republican Sens. Kelly Dooner and Ryan Fattman opting out of voting yes or no and Democratic Sens. Paul Mark and Liz Miranda not responding to the poll. Senators are scheduled to debate the bill Thursday, July 9.
Unlike the House’s social media legislation, which was embedded in a bill (H.5366) that also bans student cellphone use in school, the Senate’s proposal does not prohibit kids or teens under a certain age from accessing social media platforms. The version that passed the House in April bans children under 14 from using social media platforms and requires platforms to get parental consent for users aged 14 and 15.
Digital and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups have criticized the House’s social media policies over concerns about how it addresses data privacy and affects LGBTQ+ youth. The industry has also challenged social media verification laws, with some arguing the policies violate First Amendment rights.
Cyr noted that addressing social media harms is “one of the most difficult policy changes that we’ve had to navigate.” That’s because there’s evidence that social media, and its addicting features, is contributing to a youth mental health crisis. But also, many young people — especially LGBTQ+ youth and other vulnerable groups — rely on the internet to find support, friendships or resources.
“So, if we get this policy wrong, we risk cutting off exactly the young people who most need those connections,” he said. “So, that’s why this legislation walks a careful line.”
Cyr added, “We’re protecting young people from manipulative platform design, not preventing them from finding community, and I think that’s the balance we should be striving for on this difficult and complicated issue.”
Creem also said the bill was “carefully crafted” so it doesn’t infringe on users’ First Amendment rights or limit youths’ ability to find community online.
Creem said the only age verification the bill requires would be to ensure a user is 18 years or older for enabling addictive social media features. Also, users must be able to verify their age in ways that “either does not rely solely on a government-issued ID or that otherwise allows them to remain anonymous on the platform,” according to a bill fact sheet provided by the Senate.
Asked by a reporter about the choice to leave government issued-IDs out of the age verification process, Creem noted the bill leaves the “daunting task” of promulgating age verification methods with the attorney general’s office.
“We wanted to balance the need to determine the age with issues like data privacy. We want to make sure, like in this bill, whatever they use to identify their age cannot be kept by the company or used for any other purpose,” she said.
The bill also includes data privacy provisions by requiring apps to create other “default” settings that disable the visibility and sharing of a minor’s precise geolocation data, limit minors’ direct messaging and content sharing to their connected accounts, as well as limiting the visibility of posts and other content on minors’ pages to their connected accounts.
The default setting for a minor’s geolocation data could only be turned off by the minor with their parent or guardian’s consent. Minors could also change the settings for sending or receiving messages and content, a move that “acknowledges that social media in smaller doses can have benefits for isolated or disconnected kids, including LGBTQ+ youth who may not live in affirming households or communities,” the Senate’s fact sheet said.
Gov. Maura Healey’s social media policies that she proposed in a supplemental spending bill also would require social media platforms to have a “default” setting that disables addictive practices. The governor’s social media proposal, which the House cut out of the version of the spending bill passed in June, also sets a two-hour time limit for users under 18.
Asked why the Senate did not adopt the governor’s proposed time limit, Creem said, “we went in a direction that we thought really had stood up to constitutional muster.”
While the Senate’s proposal includes far fewer restrictions on youth social media use than the governor’s or House’s proposals, Cyr said it’s important to teach kids and teens how to use the technology.
Creem noted that the fiscal 2027 budget lawmakers laid on Healey’s desk Wednesday includes funding for curriculum focused on social media harms. The budget includes $2 million for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education “to give grants to school districts to support the education of students on safe, responsible and healthy social media use.” This includes “curriculum frameworks and other instructional materials to promote evidence-based practices,” according to the budget’s language.
The Senate social media proposal could create a complicated dynamic for a six-person conference committee that already has the House’s social media policy on the table along with the cellphone ban measures. Asked about how lawmakers are planning to handle the bill’s future, Creem said “that’s a great question, I think we’re all curious. I think we need to work out the procedural question with our counterparts.”
“I have every hope that we will work out a way that we can both take it. I don’t think we’ve had an opportunity to really talk with the House about that, because we haven’t passed it,” she said.
