Attorney General Tong Submits Testimony Supporting Legislation Combatting Youth Social Media Addiction

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02/18/2026

Attorney General Tong Submits Testimony Supporting Legislation Combatting Youth Social Media Addiction

(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong today submitted testimony in support of legislation he proposed with Governor Ned Lamont 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.

“Young people 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 constant, attention-grabbing alerts and algorithms designed to override self-control, to maximize the platform’s profit at the expense of children’s and teens’ well-being. We must prioritize the health and development of our youth by enabling parental supervision, rather than setting young people up to fall victim to addictive and destructive social media algorithms. Families can’t afford to wait for the federal government or the tech giants to implement reasonable safety reforms,” Attorney General Tong states in his testimony.

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.
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, the legislation 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.

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.

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