Two state lawmakers from King County say they will reintroduce bills in aimed at companies that peddle addictive online platforms to kids in the next legislative session. The bills would require companies to change their designs and the way they gather data on user to protect kids users and to encourage them to engage in healthier relationships with the platforms.
A second try with more imput
Senate Bill 5708 and House Bill 1834 (SB5708/HB1834) were developed in collaboration with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, Rep. Lisa Callan (D-Issaquah), Sen. Noel Frame (D-Seattle), and the statewide children’s advocacy organization. Children’s Alliance. The bills failed to pass during the 2025 legislative session, but Frame and Callan plan to bring them back for another try in the 2026 session, which starts Jan. 12, 2026. Advocates for the mirror-image pieces of legislation say they are confident that one or the other will pass.
According to Children’s Alliance Executive Director Dr. Soleil Boyd, bill proponants were told last year that they needed more input from parents, educators, technology companies, legal experts, youth behavioral health experts, youth advocates and other stakeholders to ensure any new law would be feasible and meet the needs of kids and other impacted communities.
“The Attorney General’s Office has worked hard to convene businesses and the tech industry to ensure that what they think is necessary is taken into consideration,” Boyd said of the interim work with stakeholders. “Children’s Alliance has done work with families impacted by addictive online [platforms], including families who have lost their children to them.”
Protecting kids from real harm
The evidence is mounting that social media and other online platforms pose a danger to kids. The findings? Excessive use of addictive online platforms can increase the risk of behavioral health issues.
Most platforms use data tracking and intentional design principles to keep young people online for as long as possible.
As Kelly Stonelake, a former director at Meta, said in a news release announcing the intent to refloat SB5708 / HB1834 in 2026: “Executives and leadership within these tech companies know and understand that they are putting children in harm’s way, and they justify it based on profit and the race to market dominance. This legislation is necessary because time and time again, Big Tech has shown its inability to self-regulate when profit conflicts with protecting kids.”
If approved by lawmakers during the upcoming 90-day session and signed by the governor, the legislation would require companies operating addictive online platforms in Washington to:
- Stop platforms serving targeted addictive feeds to minors.
- Stop platforms from sending push notifications during school and sleep hours
- Ensure all users have access to settings that promote privacy and healthy relationships with online content.
“Everyone deserves to grow up healthy and fully connected to the people and world around them,” said Boyd. “Implementing the provisions in this bill will give control back to young people and their families, so that they can develop healthier relationships with technology and be free to focus on their health, education, and social connections.”
Compelling background
Boyd said in a recent interview that she hopes Washington lawmakers, as part of coming to understand the scope of the problem, get a chance to view the new documentary film “Can’t Look Away: The Case Against Social Media,” based on the work of Seattle’s Social Media Victims Law Center (SMVLC). Attorneys there have been building cases against TikTok, Meta, and Snap on behalf of the families who have lost kids after viewing content on their platforms. “Can’t Look Away is available online at Jolt.Film.
Washington is one of 40 other states working to advance similar legislation.
“Speak with any parent, and you’ll hear that they are concerned about the effect that addictive feeds are having on kids’ mental health,” said Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown in the release. “This legislation would implement commonsense protections to keep kids safe online.”
“We’re confident that this is going to make a lot of progress this year,” said Boyd. “ We know we are right. We have real champions advancing this legislation. I’m very hopeful.”
