Massachusetts Addictive Feeds Bill (S.3175)
Massachusetts, United StatesHigh threat- Introduced
- Passed Senate
- Passed House
- Became Law
Stage 2 of 4: Passed Senate
Massachusetts would switch off addictive feeds, autoplay, infinite scroll and overnight notifications for minors by default, and hand the attorney general the job of deciding how platforms work out who is a minor.
Latest update
Referred to House Ways and Means
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Take action on this issueContact LawmakersWhat it does
The Bill creates a new Online Protection chapter. Platforms must run age ID checks to find users under 18, then apply default settings that turn off algorithmic feeds, autoplay, infinite scroll and notifications between midnight and 6am, with a reminder after an hour of use. Accounts belonging to known minors also default to connected-accounts-only visibility, messaging and sharing, with location sharing off. A user can decline the age check, and anyone who declines gets the same restricted defaults. The attorney general writes the age check rules and must include at least one method that avoids relying on government identification alone or that lets a user stay anonymous to the platform. Data gathered for age checks must be deleted straight afterwards and cannot be reused. Fines reach 5,000 dollars for each non-compliant account.
What’s at stake
This is the careful version of an age check law. It bars identification-only verification, forces deletion, lets users opt out into the restricted defaults, and goes after design features rather than banning anyone. It also lets the attorney general order operating system makers to broadcast a device-level age category to platforms, the same plumbing California ordered in AB 1043, and leaves the definition of reasonable proof to regulators. Rules are due by March 2027 and the chapter takes effect that August. Both chambers have now passed their versions, and a conference committee is negotiating the final bill.
Our take
Strip out the ID upload and the ban and you still end up with a machine that sorts users by age before they reach a feed, with the state deciding what counts as good enough proof. Age categories broadcast from the operating system spare you the passport scan and hand the job to Apple and Google instead, which is the arrangement those companies have wanted all along.
Timeline
Referred to House Ways and MeansLatest
Passed the Senate 38-2, reprinted as amended as S.3175
Reported by Senate Ways and Means as a redraft of Senate No. 30
Sponsors
House Speaker Ron Mariano, Rep. Aaron Michlewitz
Votes
- Senate — Passed (38 to 2) · July 9, 2026
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