(BOSTON 7/24/2025) — This week, the Senate Committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity voted to advance three pieces of legislation; a bill that would tax streaming services to fund community media programs, legislation that would protect minors against predatory algorithms designed to keep them on social media apps, and a bill that would create a fund to upgrade Massachusetts’ digital infrastructure. All six members of the Committee voted unanimously to report the three bills with a favorable recommendation.

“After collecting thousands of documents and dozens of hours of testimony from stakeholders from across the Commonwealth, I am pleased to share that the Committee is moving another three bills forward in the legislative process,” said Chair of the Senate Committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity Senator Michael Moore (D-Millbury). “Ensuring local access community programming remains a part of the Bay State’s media fabric, protecting children from unethical Big Tech practices, and upgrading the computer systems that handle our most sensitive data are vitally important proposals that I’m proud we are prioritizing in the Senate. I’d like to thank my colleagues for their thoughtful consideration of these bills, and I look forward to continuing these conversations on Beacon Hill.”

The bills include:

An Act to modernize funding for community media programming – S.41

Community media programming is largely funded through taxes levied on cable TV operators such as Xfinity and Spectrum for their use of cables, wires, and other infrastructure that delivers their services to Bay Staters’ homes. However, while cable TV subscription revenue shrinks as an increasingly large portion of Americans’ media diets turn to online streaming services, so does funding for the municipally operated media organizations that deliver local programming, hybrid meetings, and important news to residents.

As it stands, streaming services are effectively paying nothing to use the same local infrastructure that cable companies are using. Introduced by Senator Jason Lewis, this bill would address that by establishing a board of stakeholders that can set a streaming service assessment rate to supplement declining cable fee revenues.

Massachusetts is home to the highest concentration of community media or PEG centers in the country, with over 250 outlets. By choosing to not act in the face of declining revenues, many of these programs risk severe cuts or closures. This legislation would update a funding model that we know already works for the modern age.

“Access to local community media is vital to support our communities and encourage a healthy democracy,” said Senator Jason Lewis (D-Winchester). “I was proud to file this bill to ensure that we adequately and sustainably fund local access and community media centers across the state that residents rely on to stay connected to their community and engage with their local government. Thank you to Senator Moore for digging into this issue and working with me as we look to the future of community media.”

An Act protecting children from addictive social media feeds – S.30

Social media platforms developed by some of the world’s largest companies are in a constant arms race to compete for users’ attention. Many big tech companies are willing to do most anything to get it, going so far as to exploit quirks of human behavior and manipulate users’ emotions to intentionally create over-use or compulsive use patterns in the same way the casino industry does. While these practices in algorithm development are harmful for users of all ages, nowhere is it more predatory than in children and teenagers whose developing minds are especially susceptible to the fear of missing out, appearances of popularity, and other social pressures.

This legislation, introduced by Senator Cynthia Stone Creem, would create two powerful regulations to protect minors. The first takes aim directly at addictive feed algorithms, limiting what personal data social media platforms can use to curate feeds for minors. This means barring the use of data commonly collected during these companies’ passive surveillance practices, including click tracking, time-spent statistics, and other data that is typically used to arrange a feed that is likely to keep a user on the platform for longer. The other regulation would ban social media apps from sending minors notifications during the hours of 12am to 6am, times when a buzzing phone could pull teenagers away from much-needed sleep and encourage them to open the app.

Protecting children from predatory practices employed by trillion-dollar tech companies is critical to allowing their minds to mature and develop without Instagram, TikTok, X, and Snapchat manipulating them into developing unhealthy relationships with their platforms. This legislation takes steps toward curbing the worst of these practices.

“This bill is a critical step toward protecting the mental health and well-being of children and teens in Massachusetts,” said Senate Majority Leader Cynthia Stone Creem (D-Newton). “By limiting addictive algorithms and late-night notifications, we’re helping young people build healthier relationships with technology and sending a message that their well-being matters more than Big Tech’s bottom line.”

An Act relative to the modernization of state agency information technology systems – S.31

Many Massachusetts state agencies still rely on decades-old digital systems that can be slow, inefficient, and insecure against cybercriminals. In an age of increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks from foreign and domestic threats, it is critical that systems which handle Bay Staters’ social security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, and other sensitive information are resilient enough to defend against those trying to steal it.

Introduced by Senator Brendan Crighton, this bill would create a new Massachusetts Innovation Fund and State Agency Technology Upgrades Account, as well as a governing board to evaluate proposals and award financial assistance to state agencies with qualifying technology modernization projects.

Having been advanced out of the Senate Committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity with favorable recommendations, the bills now go to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means for further review.

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