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Bill

SD 2013

An Act to protect adolescents from unhealthy social media engagement

194th Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by John Cronin

Massachusetts bill restricts addictive social media design features for minors under 18, requiring chronological feeds and limiting engagement-maximizing notifications.

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Bill Summary · SD 2013

Legislative bill overview

This bill aims to restrict social media platforms' ability to use addictive design features—such as infinite scroll, autoplay, and algorithmic feeds optimized for engagement—when serving users under 18 years old. The legislation would require platforms to default to chronological feeds for minors and prohibit notifications designed to maximize time spent on the platform.

Why is this important

Adolescent mental health has become a significant public health concern, with studies linking excessive social media use to increased rates of anxiety, depression, and sleep disruption. This bill represents one of the first state-level attempts to address the structural design choices that researchers argue deliberately exploit psychological vulnerabilities in young users.

Potential points of contention

  • Free speech and platform rights: Social media companies argue that algorithmic curation is core to their service model and may challenge restrictions as violations of First Amendment protections and corporate speech rights.
  • Definitional ambiguity: The bill must clearly define what constitutes "addictive design features"—vague language could create compliance confusion or unintended consequences for legitimate engagement tools.
  • Enforcement and jurisdiction: Determining how a state law applies to nationally and internationally operated platforms raises questions about enforceability and whether federal regulation should instead take precedence.
  • Age verification burden: Implementation requires platforms to verify users' ages, raising privacy concerns about data collection from minors and feasibility of accurate age-gating.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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