Massachusetts House to Vote on Under 14 Social Media Ban

(TNS) — The state House of Representatives will vote Wednesday on sweeping legislation that would ban social media use for children aged 14 and younger without parental consent and restrict cellphone use at school.

In a statement, leaders in the majority-Democrat chamber said the ban would be the most restrictive in the country. It comes amid a wider focus nationwide on the mental health impact of social media use on the youngest Americans.

“The simple reality is that Massachusetts must do more to ensure that our laws keep pace with modern challenges – especially when it comes to protecting our children, and to setting students up for success in the classroom and beyond,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairperson Aaron Michlewitz, D-3rd Suffolk, said in a statement. “We look forward to productive conversations with the Membership in the coming days, and to passing this important legislation on Wednesday.”

Here’s how the social media ban would work:

• The legislation requires a social media platform to prohibit minors aged 14 and younger from using any social media platform.  
• It requires social media platforms to allow a minor aged 14 or 15 to use the platform only if the platform receives verified consent from the parent. 
• After age 16, minors may use social media without parental consent.   
• Social media companies would be required to implement an age-verification system to determine whether a current or prospective user on the platform meets the age requirement.  
• Parents of a minor user would be given access to data submitted by the user from the social media platforms 
• The state Attorney General would be required to promulgate regulations to implement this not later than Sept. 1, 2026.  
• This policy would go into effect Oct. 1, 2026. 

Cellphones in Schools:

• The bill requires school districts to have a policy prohibiting student use of personal electronic devices during the school day as well as school-sponsored activities during the school day 
• The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education would have to provide districts with guidance, recommendations and a model policy to implement the restrictions. 
• It also creates a pilot program run by DESE to administer for 10 districts to render students’ personal electronic devices inoperable on school grounds during the school day, according to an analysis of the bill.

A similar bell-to-bell phone ban passed the state Senate last year. And that bill remains a top priority for Senate President Karen E. Spilka, D-Middlesex/Norfolk.

A $1.8 billion spending bill set to come before the Senate on Thursday includes $1 million to help districts implement bans on their own.

“This is really a critically important item for our children’s mental health,” Spilka told MassLive last week. “It’s something that we, as a state, must pass. So it’s an acknowledgement that we need to assist the school districts in implementation.”

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