Massachusetts Children’s Privacy Laws (2026)

S.2581, "An Act to promote student learning and mental health" (House version engrossed as H.5366; now in a House-Senate conference committee)

Pending · Social media · binds platforms, operators

Ages: under 14 barred; 14-15 require verifiable parental consent

Requires: Would require social media platforms to run age assurance, bar users under 14, and require verifiable parental consent for users 14-15, whose accounts would also get protective default settings, no addictive feed and no notifications between midnight and 6 a.m.; the Attorney General would write implementing regulations. It would also require every school district to adopt a policy barring student use of personal electronic devices during the school day, with a 1-year, 10-district pilot of device-disabling technology. Not yet law: the House adopted these provisions when it passed S.2581 with the H.5366 text on 2026-04-08 (129-25), but the Senate's version contains only a school device policy, and the two have been in conference committee since 2026-05-20.

Timing: not enacted; 2026-10-01 is the date written into the engrossed House text for the social-media age-restriction provisions, not an operative date. The conference committee was appointed 2026-05-20, before the July 31 cutoff, so under the 194th General Court's joint rules this bill can still be reported out and voted on in formal session after 2026-07-31

Litigation: None; not enacted, so no enforcement litigation. S.2581 (House amendment text H.5366) has been in a House-Senate conference committee since the Senate non-concurred in the House amendment and appointed conferees on 2026-05-07 and the House insisted on its amendment and appointed its conferees on 2026-05-20; the official history records no later action. Separately, the Senate passed its own youth social-media design bill, S.3164, 38-2 on 2026-07-09, engrossed as S.3175 and pending before the House; it is tracked as a separate entry.

Entry last reviewed 2026-10-01

S.3164, reprinted as amended and engrossed as S.3175

Pending · Social media · binds platforms, operators

Ages: protective defaults apply to minor accounts and to any user who declines age verification

Requires: Would require social media platforms to use commercially reasonable age checks on account holders unless a user opts out, and to keep protective defaults on for minors and anyone not checked: no addictive algorithmic feed, autoplay or infinite scroll, no push notifications from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., no sharing of precise geolocation with other users, and an acknowledged reminder after an hour of daily use and every 30 minutes after; only users found not to be minors could change them, and known minors' accounts would also default to connected-accounts-only visibility, sharing and messaging, which the minor may change. The Attorney General would set the accepted age-check methods by regulation, including at least one that relies on neither government ID nor biometric data and lets users stay anonymous, would receive quarterly de-identified data on minors' use and report annually, and would enforce exclusively under chapter 93A. Services run by nonprofits and open-source software-sharing platforms are excluded from the definition of a social media platform.

Timing: not enacted; 2027-08-01 is the date written into the Senate-engrossed text (S.3175) for the new chapter, with the Attorney General's regulations due by 2027-03-01, not an operative date

Litigation: None; not enacted. Passed the Senate 38-2 on 2026-07-09 (Roll Call #206; 12 amendments adopted, 6 rejected), was reprinted as amended as S.3175, and was referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means on 2026-07-15. The official history lists that referral as its latest action. Unlike S.2581, it never reached a conference committee, so when formal business for the second annual session ended on 2026-07-31 under Joint Rule 12A it fell outside the rule's exceptions (reports of conference committees formed by July 31, appropriation bills filed after July 31, and bills returned by the Governor). Absent a rules change or suspension, its remaining path is the informal session, where the Senate considers no matter a member present objects to (Senate Rule 7) and the House takes up no new business except by unanimous consent and takes no roll calls (House Rule 44). It remains pending until the 194th General Court dissolves on 2027-01-05, the day before the first Wednesday in January.

Entry last reviewed 2026-10-01

S.2619 (House amendment text H.5479; now in a House-Senate conference committee)

Pending · Privacy law (minors) · binds operators

Ages: Minors under 18 (targeted-ad and sale ban); known children under 13 handled per COPPA

Requires: Both chambers' versions would bar a controller from processing a minor's (under 18) personal data for targeted advertising or selling it, the Senate's where the controller knows or should have known the consumer is a minor and the House's on actual knowledge or willful disregard. Both make minors' data sensitive data (the Senate a child's under 13, the House any minor's), require a known child's data to be handled in accordance with COPPA, and deem COPPA verifiable parental consent to satisfy any parental-consent duty. The House version also requires a data protection assessment for processing through a product or service predominantly used by minors and lets a parent exercise a minor's consumer rights, which the Senate version allows only for a child.

Timing: not enacted; 2027-01-01 (Senate text) and 2027-07-01 (House amendment) are the dates written into the two versions, not operative dates. The conference committee was appointed 2026-06-17, before the July 31 cutoff, so under the 194th General Court's joint rules its report can still be taken up in formal session after 2026-07-31

Litigation: None; not enacted. Passed the Senate 40-0 on 2025-09-25 (Roll Call #71); the House substituted its own text (H.5472, amended and published as H.5479) and passed it 146-0 on 2026-06-04. The Senate non-concurred and appointed conferees on 2026-06-11, and the House insisted on its amendment and appointed its conferees on 2026-06-17; the official history records no later action.

Entry last reviewed 2026-10-01

H.5576, "An Act relative to economic development in the commonwealth"; c. 93N is only in the Senate amendment text S.3228 (SECTION 164); now in a House-Senate conference committee

Pending · AI companion · binds operators

Ages: All users; no minor-specific tier (the disclosure duty still binds a kids' chatbot product)

AI chatbot access for minors: Safeguards only (proposed in a pending bill, not law).

Requires: Would require any commercial entity deploying a chatbot, defined as an automated program designed to simulate conversation with human users by audio, visual or text methods, whether through generative AI or similar technology, to clearly and conspicuously disclose to the person it interacts with that the person is interacting with a chatbot and not a human. A violation would be an unfair or deceptive act or practice under chapter 93A, in addition to any other remedies. Only the Senate's version of the bill contains this chapter.

Timing: not enacted; the Senate text sets no specific effective date for c. 93N. The conference committee was appointed 2026-07-30, before the July 31 cutoff, so under the 194th General Court's joint rules its report can still be taken up in formal session after 2026-07-31

Litigation: None; not enacted. The House passed H.5576 148-2 on 2026-07-08 with no chatbot provision; the Senate replaced its text with S.3178, amended it and passed it on 2026-07-24, reprinted as S.3228 with c. 93N. On 2026-07-30 the House non-concurred and appointed conferees, and the Senate insisted on its amendment and appointed its conferees; the official history records no later action.

Entry last reviewed 2026-10-01