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Governor Lamont and Attorney General Tong Announce Legislation To Combat Youth Social Media Addiction [[link removed]]

Posted on January 28, 2026

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont and Attorney General William Tong today announced that during the 2026 regular session of the Connecticut General Assembly, they will propose legislation enacting protections in state law to combat youth social media addiction, including by prohibiting social media companies from exposing minors to harmful and addictive algorithms and notifications without parental consent.

The proposal, modeled after similar measures in New York, California, and Utah, also establishes a series of default settings regarding account privacy, time of use, and notifications, including barring notifications between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. Parental consent would be required to alter the default settings.

“Increasingly, social media companies are taking advantage of kids, creating apps and algorithms that decrease their attention spans and drive them to become addicted, causing them to tune out learning and tune out each other, and harmfully impact their mental health and wellbeing,” Governor Lamont said. “Social media is all too often anti-social. We need protections for children in the online world of social media just like we have in the real world.”

“Social media is designed to maximize profit by overriding self-control,” Attorney General Tong said. “These companies are selling our kids’ attention spans, with zero regard for the harm to education, friendships, and their mental and physical health. Connecticut is done asking and waiting for Big Tech to do the right thing or for Washington to step up. Families need action now to give parents the control they need to make safe choices for their kids.”

Similar legislation was introduced and approved by the Connecticut House of Representatives in 2025, however it was not called for a vote in the Senate before the regular session adjourned.

In addition to new strong default protections, Governor Lamont and Attorney General Tong’s legislation will 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.

Adding to the legislation proposed last year, this year’s proposal will further require a warning label pop-up when a minor opens a social media app informing them of the mental health dangers social media proposes.

In 2024, 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.

The proposal is receiving the support of bipartisan legislators, including the leadership of the General Law Committee, where this bill is likely to be referred.

“In 2023, we took an important step by passing legislation to protect children on social media, making Connecticut one of the first states to put these protections in place,” Senator James Maroney (D-Milford), co-chair of the General Law Committee, said. “But as new research emerges, it’s clear we must do more to shield our kids from the risks of online platforms. I am proud to join Governor Lamont and Attorney General William Tong in advocating for stronger, more comprehensive protections to keep Connecticut children safe in the digital world.”

“Holding social media companies accountable by requiring annual reports on minors’ activity is a first step toward curbing youth addiction,” State Representative Roland Lemar (D-New Haven), General Law Committee co-chair, said. “The manipulative tactics built into addictive algorithms must be stopped.”

“Families throughout the state are worried about these social media companies’ addictive algorithms that are fueling a youth mental health crisis, contributing to dangerously increasing rates of depression, anxiety, and other serious challenges,” State Representative Gary Turco (D-Newington, New Britain), General Law Committee vice chair, said. “We are ready on the General Law Committee to be leaders on this vital issue for our children and families and pass Governor Lamont and Attorney General Tong’s proposal.”

“We need to be honest about how dangerous and destructive social media has become for young people,” State Representative David Rutigliano (R-Trumbull), General Law Committee ranking member, said. “This is not a fair fight – these companies use predatory algorithms that deliberately target kids with questionable content, all to keep them hooked. I fully support any effort to rein them in and put the well-being of our children first.”

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.

Governor Lamont and Attorney General Tong’s legislation will be filed as part of the governor’s package of legislative proposals for the 2026 regular session, which convenes on February 4, 2026.

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