Overview
- Massachusetts House leaders scheduled a Wednesday vote on a bill to bar children under 14 from social media and require districts to ban student phone use during the school day.
- The measure would make platforms verify user ages, block under‑14 accounts, secure parental consent for 14‑ and 15‑year‑olds, and give parents access to data their children submit.
- If the bill passes, the attorney general must issue rules by Sept. 1, 2026, and the law would take effect Oct. 1, 2026, including a 10‑district pilot to render students’ devices inoperable on campus.
- Greece announced Wednesday it will block under‑15s from social platforms starting Jan. 1, 2027, and Turkey’s parliament has opened debate on a similar under‑15 plan.
- Laws like these have drawn First Amendment challenges in the U.S., and experts warn age checks can be bypassed or raise privacy risks, citing VPN workarounds and partial compliance in Australia and Indonesia.