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Infinite scroll, autoplay, and late-night notifications could be turned off under the proposal. How do you manage social media use at home?
Massachusetts lawmakers passed a bill to curb the effects of social media on children, specifically the “addictive” features designed to keep young people scrolling.
The discussion took center stage Thursday as the Massachusetts Senate debated S.3164, a bill that would require social media companies to disable many of the features lawmakers say are designed to keep minors endlessly engaged. Thirty-eight members – 95% of the Senate’s 40-member body – voted “yes” to the bill, with two against it.
Rather than restricting children’s access to social media altogether, the proposal targets the platforms technology itself. Under the bill, autoplay, infinite scroll, algorithmic feeds that recommend content from accounts users don’t follow, and other “endless scrolling or pagination functions” would be turned off by default for minors. Young users would also receive reminders after spending long periods of time on a platform, and push notifications would be disabled between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. to ensure users get adequate sleep, per an amendment to the bill. Users would also be able to choose types of context to prioritize or deprioritize in their feed.
The legislation would also expand privacy protections for minors by limiting who can message them and prohibiting them from sharing their location data. The bill does not ban platforms from allowing users to submit government-issued ID or biometric data for age-verification, but it ensures that those aren’t the only options available to users.
Supporters said the proposal is designed to curb the design choices that encourage compulsive use without preventing teenagers from accessing the online communities they rely on.
“It is our responsibility to help them break free from the addictive grasp of big tech, so they can have teenage years that are fun, formative, and healthy. And that’s exactly what this bill we have before us does,” Senate Majority Leader Cynthia Stone Creem, the bill’s sponsor, said during Thursday’s debate.
Another amendment to the bill requires social media companies to file annual reports to the Attorney General’s office and make public how they target minors.
Creem argued the legislation strikes a balance between protecting children and preserving their constitutional rights. Unlike earlier proposals from the Massachusetts House, the Senate bill would not ban children under a certain age from social media or require everyone to verify their age simply to create an account. Instead, users would only need to verify they are 18 or older to access the addictive features covered by the bill, while anyone could opt out of age verification and continue using social media without those features enabled.
“[The bill] allows anyone to skip age verification and still access social media platforms and all the posts there. This ensures it does not infringe on First Amendment rights,” Creem said at the hearing. “For those who choose to verify their age, it includes additional safeguards,” she added.
Sen. Julian Cyr said the proposal is intended to restore social media to its original purpose of bringing people together, not isolating them.
“The provisions in the Senate bill aim to go back to the OG social media, back when it was actually social and actually a network,” Cyr said. “These platforms are designed to trap users in an endless loop. These companies must be held accountable.”
The legislation now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.
The Senate’s approach follows months of debate over how Massachusetts should regulate social media. Earlier proposals drew criticism from digital rights advocates, who warned that age-verification and parental consent requirements could create privacy risks and make it harder for LGBTQ+ youth and other marginalized communities to find support online.
The legislation comes as Massachusetts officials have intensified their scrutiny of social media companies more broadly.
Boston sues social media companies over ‘addictive’ features, joining nationwide litigation
On Wednesday, the City of Boston, on behalf of Boston Public Schools, sued Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, and other companies, alleging they deliberately designed platforms with addictive features that have fueled a youth mental health crisis. Mayor Michelle Wu said the companies have prioritized engagement over children’s well-being, while school officials pointed to rising student mental health needs they say have accompanied the spread of those design features.
As lawmakers continue debating where responsibility should fall, we want to hear from the people navigating these decisions every day.
How do you regulate your child’s social media use? Do you set screen time limits, ban certain apps, require phones to be turned in at night, or have conversations about algorithms and endless scrolling? What has worked for your family? And what do you think about Massachusetts’ latest proposal?
Tell us by filling out the form or e-mailing us at [email protected], and your response may appear in a future Boston.com article.
How do you regulate your child’s social media use?
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