Mass. Legislators Weigh Banning Social Media Algorithms for Kids
Massachusetts should follow New York state in passing an age-verification bill to ban social media platforms from using algorithms to deliver content to users younger than 18, said Massachusetts Rep. William MacGregor (D) at a livestreamed Thursday hearing of the Joint Committee on Advanced IT, the Internet and Cybersecurity.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Privacy Daily provides accurate coverage of newsworthy developments in data protection legislation, regulation, litigation, and enforcement for privacy professionals responsible for ensuring effective organizational data privacy compliance.
A rising mental health crisis is "fueled in part by social media addictions,” said MacGregor as he urged the committee to support his bill (H-4229) and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Cynthia Creem’s companion measure (S-30). "Companies such as TikTok and Meta … are constantly tracking analytics on how long a teenager is spending on each post, what they like, what they comment on and what they're searching for, and these insights are then used to feed endless streams of personalized content designed to maximize screen time.”
If the bill becomes law, “children would only be able to access the content that they search for as well as the accounts that they already follow,” said the House member. New York last year enacted a similar law, the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation for Kids Act (see 2406070065).
"Companies already have systems in place to verify the age of their users,” added MacGregor: The legislation “directs the attorney general's office to enforce this law through feasible means available to developers.” The state rep said he hasn’t yet spoken to the AG about the bill but plans to soon.
However, the Computer and Communications Industry Association urged lawmakers to reject the bill due to legal and privacy concerns about its proposed age-verification requirement.
“It’s critical that we protect children online, and one effective way to do that is by supporting voluntary tools like daily time limits and child-safe search that give parents more control over their child’s social media use,” said Kyle Sepe, CCIA Northeast regional state policy manager. However, by requiring age verification for all users, the Massachusetts legislation restricts “young people’s access to supportive resources” and could expose “adults and minors to privacy risks” while “limiting their access to constitutionally protected speech.”