Press Releases
02/10/2025
Attorney General Tong Announces Legislation to Combat Youth Social Media Addiction
(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong announced he is seeking state legislation to prohibit social media companies from exposing minors to harmful and addictive algorithms and notifications without parental consent. The legislation, modeled after similar measures in New York, California and Utah, would also establish a series of default settings regarding account privacy, time of use and notifications, including barring notifications between midnight and 6 a.m. and limiting social media use to one hour per-day. Parental consent would be required to alter the default settings.
“Our teenagers spend hours each day glued to social media, with dire consequences for their learning, relationships and mental health. These platforms are addictive by design-- with algorithms and constant alerts honed to maximize profits by overriding self-control. We need to give parents back some control, and families can’t afford to wait for the federal government or the tech giants to do it,” said Attorney General Tong.
"I look forward to working with Attorney General Tong's office and my colleagues in the House as well as leaders across the country to craft state specific protections for our children," said Rep. Roland Lemar D-96, House Chair of the General Law Committee. "I believe that these protections are vitally important to safeguard our kids."
"We need to protect our children with the increased access they have to the online world," said Senator James Maroney (D-Milford), Chair of the General Law Committee. "Social media companies must be held accountable for the impact their platforms have on children. These algorithms are designed to keep minors engaged for as long as possible, often at the cost of their mental health and well-being."
"I am pleased to support the Attorney General's efforts to protect children from the dangers of unregulated social media use. Just as we do not permit minors to consume alcohol or cigarettes, we must shield them from the mental health risks and addictive behaviors associated with unchecked digital exposure. This legislation rightly empowers parents, establishes reasonable usage limits, and ensures accountability for social media companies—important steps in safeguarding the well-being of our youth,” said Rep. David Rutigliano, R-123, Ranking Member of the General Law Committee.
In addition to strong new default protections, the legislation proposed by Attorney General Tong would require social media companies to annually report to the state the number of minors on their platform, the number of minors with parental consent to use addictive algorithms, and the average amount of time per day a minor spends on the platform, broken down by both age and time of day.
In September, Meta announced new features for “Instagram Teen Accounts,” adding additional privacy features, messaging restrictions, a new sleep mode, and added break reminders. But Meta did little to address the most addictive and harmful features, including its algorithms and infinite scroll—called behavioral cocaine by one developer. The proposed data reporting would give Connecticut the ability to determine if these measures, as well as Connecticut’s own protections, are working to curb social media use during school hours and overnight when kids need to be studying and sleeping.
Attorney General Tong has sued Meta, alleging that the company knowingly designed and deployed harmful features on Instagram and its other social media platforms that purposefully addict youth. Connecticut’s investigation into TikTok over similar allegations is active and ongoing.
- Twitter: @AGWilliamTong
- Facebook: CT Attorney General
Media Contact:
Elizabeth Benton
elizabeth.benton@ct.gov
Consumer Inquiries:
860-808-5318
attorney.general@ct.gov