State Representative Kenneth Gordon is cochair of the Joint Committee on Education.

Fundamental in the role of government is to keep its people safe. Recently, the Massachusetts House of Representatives acted to protect the safety of children by passing legislation that prohibits social media platforms from providing access to children under the age of 14, and which requires parental consent for those ages 14 and 15. It also prohibits students from using cellphones in public schools, with a few exceptions.

There is little doubt that social media has become a threat to the well-being of children. Reports published by the Mayo Clinic and UNICEF, as well as research funded by the National Institutes of Health, have found that exposure to social media among children may be harmful to their mental health. It can lead teens to question their value, physical appearance, and feel constant social pressure to send and receive “likes” and “shares.” Drawing on findings advanced by psychologist Jonathan Haidt, author of “The Anxious Generation,” the House confronted growing evidence that social media platforms are designed to maximize engagement through the use of addictive media feeds in ways that can harm children’s emotional development and mental health.

These threats are well known to social media companies, which continue to ignore the risks. In 2021, former Facebook employee Frances Haugen went public with internal Facebook documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission and The Wall Street Journal revealing that Facebook and Instagram’s own research had identified harmful effects that their platforms have on teenage girls, particularly related to body image and social comparison. Yet these platforms failed to act.

In light of this growing evidence and continued inaction, the Massachusetts House took an important step. It came at a moment when courts, juries, and regulators across the country are increasingly recognizing the serious risks digital platforms can pose to minors and the necessity of state authorities to respond. The Supreme Court recently allowed Mississippi’s law requiring parental consent to remain in effect while the case is litigated.

At the same time, enforcement actions and lawsuits against major tech companies are mounting. A New Mexico jury recently found Meta liable under state consumer protection law and ordered the company to pay $375 million in civil penalties, concluding it misled users about safety and failed to adequately address known risks to children. Litigation in Los Angeles involving Meta and other tech companies continues, with allegations that platform design features prey on young users’ vulnerabilities.

Here in Massachusetts, the Supreme Judicial Court has permitted Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s case against Meta to proceed, underscoring that claims regarding the addictive design of popular online platforms raise serious legal questions. Similar lawsuits were filed in 2023 by 40 other states and the District of Columbia, and 17 states, such as California, Ohio, Florida, and others, have since passed laws restricting social media access for children.

Against this backdrop, the House’s bill protects children from harmful and addictive platforms and the dangers associated with them, including cyber predators and bullying. The bill includes targeted safeguards to protect user privacy and preserve safe spaces, prohibiting social media platforms from disclosing a minor’s LGBTQ status or other protected characteristics, while delegating to the attorney general the implementation of reasonable age-verification standards to ensure appropriate oversight and flexibility as technology evolves. The bill passed the House overwhelmingly with bipartisan support, 129-25, including from members of the LGBTQ+ Legislative Caucus.

Alongside these restrictions on social media access for children and adolescents, the bill requires school districts to educate students in age-appropriate ways about the responsible use of social media, including potential harms to emotional and mental health and the dangers of bullying. The bill also requires public schools to adopt policies to remove students’ access to cellphones during school hours, while allowing schools flexibility and limited exceptions in implementation. Some schools already require phones to be stored away during the day, left at home, or placed in magnetically sealed bags. One district is engaged in a pilot program to explore technology that will disable select phone apps while at school. The legislation also establishes a limited statewide pilot program to help districts evaluate new tools that help reduce classroom distractions.

Schools that have implemented such policies report their students are more socially engaged during homeroom and lunch, with less pressure on students. Extending similar protections to social media use for young children builds on that effort, recognizing that these same pressures and distractions follow students beyond the classroom.