Over the last few months, the Massachusetts Legislature has been working to pass a bill that would rework the Commonwealth's social media landscape to provide more protection for minors. The primary focus of the legislation is to combat addictive features of social media to protect the mental health and overall wellbeing of children in Massachusetts. Two separate versions of a bill have been passed, with the Senate’s differing from the House’s original. Because of this, both chambers would have to reconcile their differing versions of the bill and most likely make concessions in different areas.

The key focuses of each chamber are:

The House:

• Age verification preventing children under age 14 from using social media.
  • Parental consent for children ages 14 and 15.
• Digital citizenship and social media literacy instruction in public schools.
• Cellphone bans in public schools.

The Senate:

• Social media platform structure changes that protect minors automatically.
• Reducing addictive features of social media.
• Minor-specific privacy protections.

Looking ahead, many states are looking to take similar legislative action on social media and how it pertains to their children. An overall movement to protect minors online has swept across the nation, with the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) reporting at least 40 different states introducing new legislation on the topic in 2026. Other significant states participating in the movement include California, New York, and Washington. Many of the states across the country have similar bills that revolve around age restrictions and verification and educational initiatives.

Based on this, vendors could potentially see procurement opportunities in several different areas. With multiple different states exploring options to implement social media literacy programs for students, state and local governments’ education departments may have needs for services related to creating these curriculums. Additionally, with bills that would potentially create age verification and restriction laws, many states could have cybersecurity and general information technology requirements as they develop systems to enforce these new policies. Professional services such as consulting and compliance services may also be needed to make sure any potential changes are implemented properly.

Source: MA Legislature

Source: MA Legislature

Source: NCSL