Press Release  Governor Healey Proposes Social Media Protections for Teens

Boston — Governor Maura Healey today proposed further measures to 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 prioritize the well-being of young users by default—not as an afterthought. 

“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. 

Statements of Support 

Max Page, President and Deb McCarthy, Vice President, Massachusetts Teachers Association:  

“Massachusetts legislators and Governor Maura Healey are protecting young people and creating positive learning environments in our public schools by advancing legislation that holds social media platforms accountable for how they engage young people and provides families with tools to monitor social media use by minors.  These pragmatic guardrails introduced by the governor and members of the House will build on the bell-to-bell ban on cell phones and similar devices in schools that the state Senate passed earlier. The Massachusetts Teachers Association supports these pragmatic proposals that will aid students and families as they navigate safe and healthy use of social media platforms.” 

Jateja Spriggs, Chair, Governor’s Youth Advisory Council: 

“Social media has shaped our generation during some of the most critical stages of our development. While it can foster connection and community, it can also expose young people to harm when left unregulated. We deserve platforms that prioritize our well-being and protect both us and our peers. Legislation like this gives me hope that we can stay connected while growing up in a safer, healthier digital environment.”

Jessica Tang, President, American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts: 

"Parents and educators have to constantly juggle between the integral role technology plays in all our lives with the damage that living in a constant digital age can cause, especially to our children. The Governor's bill takes a commonsense approach by establishing clear and consistent guardrails to protect minors from sensitive content while safeguarding their personal information, location, and other ways companies and predators are able to track their online presence. These are necessary steps to safeguard our students from the harms of social media usage, and we are glad to see our leaders in the Commonwealth take proactive measures.”   

David Monahan, Campaign Director, Fairplay: 

"With this proposal, Gov. Healey is providing badly needed leadership when it comes to our children's safety online. As recent court cases in California and New Mexico have made clear, social media companies are addicting and harming kids. Their products are designed to keep children hooked to the screen, leading to serious mental health harms, sexual exploitation, and even suicide. As parents and citizens, we must not allow this to continue. Gov. Healey's proposal includes a number of important reforms that will ensure our kids can have a safer experience online. As a Boston-based nonprofit, Fairplay thanks the Governor for her leadership, and we look forward to seeing Massachusetts show the rest of the country how to hold Big Tech accountable." 

Casey Mock, Senior Policy Director, The Anxious Generation Movement:  

"The evidence is now overwhelming—internal company documents, independent research, and jury verdicts in multiple states all confirm that social media products were deliberately designed to maximize compulsive use, with full knowledge of the harm to kids. This legislation dismantles those addictive design features by default and, if passed into law, would put Massachusetts at the forefront of the national effort to protect kids online." 

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