EPIC Testifies in Support of Massachusetts S.30/H.4229, An Act Protecting Children From Addictive Social Media Feeds

EPIC Counsel Suzanne Bernstein testified before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity last week in support of S.30/H.4229, An Act Protecting Children from Addictive Social Media Feeds.

EPIC’s testimony explains why S.30/H.4229 would provide significant privacy and online safety protections for minors by regulating harmful data management and design practices that deprive minors of their autonomy and lead to social media over-use. Many companies employ design features that structure feed content based on information gathered through passive surveillance of users. Like techniques in the casino industry, companies use this behavioral data to predict and design what arrangement of media is likely to keep a user on the platform longer, invading minors’ privacy and contributing to compulsive use. Similar to laws passed in California, New York and Vermont, S.30/H.4229 would ensure that personalized feeds instead honor minors’ express preferences and would not be driven by surveillance data.

S.30/H.4229 would also prohibit overnight notifications to minors between midnight and 6am. These notifications are a powerful design feature encouraging over-use by incessantly reminding users of the app even when it is inactive. The barrage of overnight notifications interrupts sleep by drawing users back to the app, taking advantage of minors’ susceptibility to the fear of missing out and other social pressures.

EPIC regularly advocates for privacy for minors online and platform accountability and governance policies that protect the speech, privacy, anti-discrimination, and safety rights of internet users, including minors. In court, EPIC has filed amicus briefs in cases involving the intersection of privacy, kids’ safety, and First Amendment. Recently, EPIC testified in support of the Vermont Age-Appropriate Design Code.