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Updated April 7, 2026, 12:20 p.m. ET
- The Massachusetts House of Representatives is planning on passing a bill April 8 that would ban social media use for children under 14 in the state.
- The measure was added to a bill, S. 2581, passed by the Senate in July 2025 that would ban cellphones for students throughout the school day.
- The bill is expected to pass the Democratic-controlled House on Wednesday.
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is planning on passing a bill April 8 that would ban social media use for children under 14 in the state.
The ban would be “among the most restrictive in the entire country,” Speaker Ron Mariano, D-Quincy, and Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, D-Boston, said in a statement April 6.
“The simple reality is that Massachusetts must do more to ensure that our laws keep pace with modern challenges – especially when it comes to protecting our children, and to setting students up for success in the classroom and beyond,” they continued.
The measure was added to a bill passed by the Senate in July 2025 that would ban cellphones for students throughout the school day.
What to know about the social media, cell phone ban bill
The bill creates restrictions on both social media and cell phone use for minors, according to a bill summary provided by the House.
It would require social media platforms to implement an age-verification system that would prohibit minors under the age of 14 from using their site; and 14- and 15-year-olds could use social media platforms, but only if given verifiable consent from the parent.
Social media platform is defined as “a public website, online service, online application or mobile application that displays content primarily generated by users and allows users to create, share and view user-generated content with other users,” according to the bill summary. It doesn’t include text messaging services like email or SMS.
The bill directs the attorney general to create regulations for implementation by Sept. 1 and the policy would go into effect Oct. 1.
The bill would also require school districts to create policies to prohibit students from using personal electronic devices like cellphones during the school day including during school-sponsored activities during the school day.
Ten districts would participate in a pilot program that renders students’ personal electronic devices inoperable on school grounds during the school day.
Will the bill pass?
The bill was expected to pass the Democratic-controlled House Wednesday, April 8.
Then, since the House changed the bill from its original Senate version, the House is expected to set up a six-person conference committee to create consensus legislation that will then have to go back to both chambers for approval before heading to the governor’s desk.
There’s a lot of support for this type of bill at the state level. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, who has filed several lawsuits against social media companies such as TikTok and Meta for harming young users, filed the original version of the Senate bill, which was dubbed the STUDY Act.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura T. Healey has also voiced support for stronger social media protections for users under 18 years old: In her 2026 State of the Commonwealth address, Healey proposed mandatory age-verification systems, requiring parental consent and disabling features like continuous scrolling and notifications between certain hours.
Additionally, many high schools in the state already ban cell phone use including Barnstable High School, Newton Public Schools and Gardner Public Schools.
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