Senate committee hears experts and industry clash over bill to curb "addictive" algorithmic feeds for minors

A Washington State Senate committee heard competing testimony on legislation to limit algorithmically generated "addictive feeds" and late-night push notifications to minors.

Sean Colgan, an assistant attorney general in the consumer protection division, told the Business, Trade and Economic Development Committee the bill (previously introduced as Senate Bill 5,708) would prohibit platforms from serving algorithmically derived continuous content streams to users reasonably determined to be minors during school hours and at night. Colgan emphasized the proposal would not bar minors from accessing platforms by search or direct following; "the bill just shields them from these predatory addictive feeds," he said.

Former platform employees gave sharply critical testimony. Brian Bolland, who said he spent 11 years at Facebook and helped build the company’s ad and newsfeed systems, told senators the firm repeatedly prioritized growth metrics over safety and that whistleblowers and research show efforts to suppress findings of harm. "Without external pressure, these platforms will continue to prioritize profit over children's well‑being," Bolland said.

Kelly Stone Lake, a former Meta director and mother, recounted being told to avoid recording concerns about children on the platform, described product design choices that exposed minors to adult users in virtual reality and said those failures contributed to tragic outcomes for at least one young person. "This legislation gives kids in Washington a fighting chance against the most addictive and predatory features of these products," Stone Lake said.

Researchers and clinicians framed the issue as a developmental one. Dr. Lucia Magis Weinberg, associate director for research at the University of Washington Center for Digital Youth, summarized evidence that adolescents are highly sensitive to social rewards and are still developing cognitive control. She said algorithmic personalization can amplify emotionally arousing and socially validating content, increase screen time (including during school and at night) and interfere with sleep and mental health.

Industry groups urged caution and alternative approaches. Amy Boss, vice president of the trade association NetChoice, warned lawmakers that courts have repeatedly struck down laws that impose blanket age-based access restrictions or mandate age verification; she cited federal decisions including Brown v. Entertainment Merchants and Moody v. NetChoice and argued curated personalized feeds are protected speech. "We believe enacting legislation that closely resembles laws already rejected by federal courts would likely lead to the same result," Boss said.

Max Martin, representing the Association of Washington Business, described industry efforts such as teen-default settings, night-time notification limits and parental-control tools, and argued that personalization can be used to increase safety when paired with strong defaults and family controls.

Committee members pressed witnesses on technical feasibility and economic effects; witnesses including former platform engineers said firms have the technical capacity to implement age estimation, notification controls and feed changes without destroying profitability.

The committee did not take a vote during the session. Members ended the work session and moved on to a public hearing on an unrelated insurance transparency bill.

The committee is expected to continue review of online-safety proposals during the legislative session.