MA S.3164
Massachusetts Act Protecting Children from Addictive Social Media Feeds (S.3164)
Would create General Laws chapter 93M requiring covered operators of social media platforms to apply protective default settings to users they determine to be minors, including disabling addictive algorithmic feeds, overnight notifications, autoplay and infinite scroll, and limiting precise geolocation sharing and account visibility. The Attorney General would set age-assurance regulations and hold exclusive enforcement authority.
Jurisdiction
Massachusetts
Enacted
Pending
Effective
TBD
Enforcement
Massachusetts Attorney General (exclusive authority under chapter 93A)
Reported by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means on July 2, 2026 as a new draft of S.30; passed the Senate on July 9, 2026 after floor amendments (38-2 roll call, per the Senate press release) and sent to the House of Representatives. No House action is recorded on the Legislature's bill history as of August 30, 2026. 194th General Court. If enacted, the Attorney General must issue age-assurance regulations by March 1, 2027 and the operative section takes effect August 1, 2027.
Massachusetts Legislature: Bill S.3164 (194th General Court)Why It Matters
Would make Massachusetts one of a small group of states regulating feed design for minors rather than content, and its age-assurance rules would be set by regulation with a data-minimization mandate and an appeal right, a template other states have not yet adopted.
Recent Developments
Passed the Senate 38-2 on July 9, 2026 as a redraft of S.30 and sent to the House, where it had not been taken up as of the end of August 2026. Modeled on the New York SAFE for Kids Act structure of default-off addictive feeds and overnight notification limits, with an explicit safe harbor for compliant age assurance.
At a Glance
Applies to
Harms addressed
Who Must Comply
- Covered operators of social media platforms with addictive feeds that are used by Massachusetts minors
- Operating-system providers, if the Attorney General requires an age signal by regulation
Obligations fall on:
Safety Provisions
- Addictive algorithmic feeds disabled by default for covered minors, with content limited to what the user requests or follows
- Push notifications to covered minors disabled by default between midnight and 6 a.m.
- Autoplay and infinite scroll disabled by default for covered minors, with usage reminders after one hour of use and every 30 minutes thereafter
- Precise geolocation sharing restricted by default; adjustable only with verifiable parental consent and only for selected connected accounts
- Account visibility for covered minors limited to connected accounts by default
- Attorney General regulations must identify commercially reasonable and technically feasible age-assurance methods, including at least one that does not rely solely on government identification or that preserves anonymity toward the platform, and may require operating-system providers to supply an age signal
- Age-assurance data limited to what is strictly necessary, deleted immediately after the determination, never combined with other personal data, with an appeal process for users
- Data collected to obtain verifiable parental consent may be used for no other purpose and must be deleted after the attempt
- Safe harbor: an operator using compliant age assurance that has not determined a user is a minor may presume the user is not a minor absent actual knowledge; an operator that bars all determined minors is exempt from the default-settings section
Exemptions
Operators that bar determined minors
A covered operator that uses compliant age assurance and prohibits every user it determines to be a covered minor from accessing the platform is exempt from the default-settings requirements
- • Uses commercially reasonable and technically feasible age assurance in compliance with Attorney General regulations
- • Bars all users determined to be covered minors
Compliance & Enforcement
Penalties
$1M; $5K/violation; $1M/day
View on map
Massachusetts
Focus Areas
Cite This
APA
Massachusetts. (n.d.). Massachusetts Act Protecting Children from Addictive Social Media Feeds (S.3164).
Related Regulations
IL HB 5511
Requires covered operators of online platforms to apply protective default settings to users they know to be minors, including limits on algorithmic feeds, a 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. notification curfew and no autoplay by default on addictive social media platforms, and establishes a device-level age-bracket signal that Internet-enabled device manufacturers must provide and operators must request. Announced by the Governor as the Children's Social Media Safety Act, the title of the bill as introduced. Enforced by the Attorney General.
NJ Kids Code
Codifies a New Jersey Age-Appropriate Design Code requiring covered online service providers to design services likely to be accessed by minors around minors' safety and wellbeing, including high-privacy defaults, limits on engagement-maximising design features, and data protection impact assessments. Enforced by the Attorney General with a private right of action for minors and their parents.
CA SB 867
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MA AI Healthcare Act
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IA SF 2417
Establishes requirements and guidelines for conversational AI services including AI disclosure to minors, prohibition on sexually explicit content for minors, prevention of deceptive human-like interactions, and parental controls for children under 13.
CO HB 1263
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Last updated September 6, 2026. Verify against primary sources before relying on this information.