Special to the Independent

Senator Sal DiDomenico and his colleagues in the Massachusetts Senate stood up to big social media companies by passing legislation that reins in how their platforms’ most addictive features target young people. 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.

“As a parent and uncle, I know that kids in my life and across our state are actively harmed by the most extractive algorithmic features on social media, and we would be turning a blind eye if we just let this continue to happen,” said Senator Sal N. DiDomenico. “We can empower children to use social media for its best features, such as fostering connection with friends, while reining in all the ways in which it damages their mental health. This essential legislation would increase online safety and remove the most addictive features of social media for kids and teens all over the Commonwealth. I look forward to seeing this bill signed into law so we can hold big social media companies accountable and protect the mental health of our youngest generation.”

The legislation—S.3164, An Act protecting children from addictive social media feeds—includes added optional safeguards for children, such as limits on the ability of ‘non-friend’ accounts—strangers—to contact minors’ accounts.

Senators voted to adopt an amendment (Amendment 24) that adds mandatory protection for minors’ precise location data. As amended, the bill now requires that social media platforms cannot allow minor children to share their precise locations with others.

The Senate passed the bill on a 38-2 roll call vote and sent it to the House of Representatives for further consideration.