Massachusetts Governor Healey proposal establishes some of the most restrictive youth online safety standards in the nation aimed to protect teens

BOSTON – Governor Maura Healey today proposed further measures that she says will protect young people on social media platforms. The proposal establishes some of the most comprehensive youth online safety standards in the nation by requiring social media platforms to institute certain actions for teens.

“I know as a parent and from talking with other parents and young people that social media platforms are having harmful impacts on our kids,” said Governor Healey. “It’s been studied and the data is clear – but you don’t need the data to know that these platforms are causing anxiety, depression, addiction and lowering self-esteem. The fact is these social media platforms have been designed to get kids addicted. My proposal takes the power away from social media platforms and gives it back to parents and young people, while also forcing platforms to turn on technologies that will better protect the health and wellbeing of our kids.” 

“For too long, these platforms have been designed to maximize the time our children spend online, with no regard for their mental health, sleep or focus in school,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “This is about making sure parents have real choices and real power to protect their kids.” 

The Governor’s legislation requires social media platforms to implement an age assurance system and establish strong default safety settings for users under 18, ensuring protections are automatically applied. These default settings would disable “addictive design features” such as infinite scroll, auto-play, and algorithm-based feeds designed to keep young users watching.   

The legislation also requires default settings that turn off location tracking features, disable notifications and restrict platform access overnight and during school hours, and limit cumulative use to two hours per day. For users ages 15 or younger, only a parent or guardian can modify these default settings. 

The bill also requires platforms to provide an easy way to flag harmful content and give families the ability to reset algorithm-driven content feeds. And it requires periodic reminders about how long a user has spent on the platform and the negative impacts social media can have on social, emotional and physical health. 

“As an educator and parent of teenagers, I have seen firsthand the negative impact social media has had on our students and our schools,” said Education Secretary Stephen Zrike. “We have a youth mental health crisis in this country that is going to take a variety of tools and strategies to solve. I am grateful to Governor Healey for filing this legislation that will enable critical online safety standards, promoting the wellbeing of our children and families.” 

Together, these measures are designed to reduce harmful online experiences, support healthier digital habits, and give families more control over how young people engage with social media.  

Governor Healey has a track record of holding social media companies accountable for the harm they are doing to young people. As Attorney General, she led a nationwide, bipartisan investigation into Meta for promoting Instagram to children and teens, despite knowing the harm it was doing. She also led a coalition of 44 attorneys general calling on Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook to abandon a plan for an “Instagram for Children” under 13, which they ultimately halted. She also co-led a nationwide investigation into whether TikTok is promoting its platform to children in a way that harms their physical and mental health.  

This proposal will be included in the supplemental budget that Governor Healey will file this afternoon.