Washington state legislators are reviving efforts to regulate social media platforms’ use of addictive features targeting minors. House Bill 1834 aims to block companies like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok from providing “addictive feeds” to minors while preserving their ability to search for specific content and follow chosen users. The bill also would prohibit push notifications to minors overnight or during school hours without parental consent.
The legislation comes after 16-year-old Avery Ping, an Olympia teen, died from an overdose of the hallucinogenic drug MDMA obtained on Snapchat in late 2024. His father Aaron Ping is now advocating for the measure, noting that screen addiction trains “the developing brain for impulsive behavior” through dopamine reward mechanisms. The state Senate passed its version last year with some bipartisan support, but it stalled in the House amid constitutionality and privacy concerns.
Data and Support
In 2023, about 70% of Washington 10th graders reported using social media several times a day, and those students were likely to have worse grades. Nearly half of 10th graders were at risk of “problematic internet use” that could lead to risky or impulsive behavior, and were likely to get less sleep than peers. Eight percent reported increased social anxiety due to internet use. The bill is modeled after a California ban on addictive feeds that has withstood court scrutiny; last year, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the law’s requirement of parental consent for minors to access addictive feeds. Kelly Stonelake, a former Meta executive who worked for nearly 15 years with the company, supports the legislation, stating that “these companies won’t” protect children and that regulation is needed.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/jan/19/push-for-youth-social-media-safeguards-revived-in-wa-legislature/