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Connecticut hearing exposes split over social‑media age checks, algorithms and minors’ safety
Summary
Supporters including mental‑health and child‑safety groups pushed HB5037 to require age verification, default private settings and limits on algorithmic 'addictive feeds' for minors. Tech and privacy groups warned of First Amendment and privacy harms from mandatory verification and compelled warnings.
Lawmakers heard sharply divided testimony on HB5037 and related measures aimed at reducing harms to minors from social‑media platforms.
Clinicians, mental‑health advocates and researchers described growing evidence that algorithmic feeds and night‑time notifications harm adolescents’ sleep, mental health and expose them to exploitation. Michael Shelby, a clinician at the Technology Addiction Center, told the committee that "social media is addictive" and that platforms’ engagement systems operate on the same reward circuitry that drives other behavioral addictions.
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