(BOSTON—7/10/2026) The Massachusetts Senate took decisive action yesterday to protect young people from the most addictive features of social media platforms, passing S.3164—An Act protecting children from addictive social media feeds. The bill targets settings engineered to keep minors perpetually online, prioritizing the health and wellbeing of users over corporate profits.
Senator John C. Velis (D-Westfield) spoke on the Senate floor and helped usher the bill through the Senate after countless conversations with youth throughout his district of social media on their lives:
“When you’re on your phone for hours at a time, are you going to the gym the same amount, are you sleeping as much as you should, are you getting outside? Are you talking to students, friends, etc.? And so often the answer is a no,” said Senator Velis, who serves as Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use, and Recovery. “I think what this bill does that I like is it gives that young person the ability to form a cognitive thought. Do I want to continue to scroll or do I want to go be productive, hang out with friends, and experience new things?”
The bill cracks down on settings that are engineered to keep minors perpetually on social media platforms at the expense of the health and wellbeing of users. Features such as autoplay, ‘infinite scroll,’ and intrusive algorithms that capitalize on users’ personal data would be turned off by default for minors. Minors would not be able to change those default settings, while adult users would retain control over their own settings.
Studies have linked prolonged daily social media use to increased depression and anxiety in children. Full details of the legislation are available in a fact sheet in the Senate’s press room.
During Thursday’s debate, the Senate also adopted amendment 31 from Senator Velis which dramatically strengthens transparency and accountability requirements for social media companies. The amendment requires platforms to:
- Provide a clear mechanism for the public to submit complaints to social media platforms, including what information can be included, internal processes for handling complaints, and any automated systems that detect harms to minors.
- Disclose the number of complaints to social media platforms involving:
- Mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, substance abuse, and suicidal behaviors;
- Addiction‑like use patterns, bullying, harassment, sexual exploitation, and violence involving minors;
- Marketing of narcotics, tobacco, gambling, or alcohol;
- Predatory or deceptive marketing and financial harms.
- Explain how platform design features—algorithmic recommendations, notifications, rewards, and other engagement‑maximizing mechanisms—are used to increase or sustain minors’ usage of the platform.
Having passed the Senate, the legislation and the amendment from Senator Velis will now be sent to the House of Representatives for further consideration.
Statements of Support
Dr. Jonathan Haidt, Author of The Anxious Generation
“S.3164 doesn’t ask children to resist a machine designed by engineers to be irresistible, and it doesn’t put the burden on exhausted parents to individually negotiate their family’s relationship with trillion-dollar companies. It simply says that addictive designs are off by default for kids. Massachusetts should pass this bill without weakening it and then strongly enforce it to the full extent of the law.”
Haley Hinkle, Policy Counsel, Fairplay For Kids
“It is indisputable that social media platforms are designed to maximize profit at the expense of minors’ safety and wellbeing. S.3164 would provide significant new protections for minors by limiting the social media features that have directly contributed to so many online harms, including personalized feeds, autoplay, and geolocation sharing. We thank Senator Creem and the Senate Committee on Ways and Means for their leadership and thank the Massachusetts Senate for its leadership on this important legislation on behalf of the state’s kids and teens.”
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