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The New York State Attorney General’s Office Is Accepting Public Comment Until December 1, 2025
By David Carlucci
Social media is a major part of many kids’ daily lives. As a father and former legislator, this is an area of great concern, given how personalized social media feeds may affect minors’ mental health. Recognizing these concerns, New York State passed the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act. The New York Attorney General’s Office recently released detailed draft regulations to explain how this law will be put into practice.
What Is an Addictive Feed?
Addictive feeds are streams of social media content personalized by algorithms that track user data and interactions. These personalized streams are designed to maximize engagement but have been linked to mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and disrupted sleep among minors.
What Does the SAFE for Kids Act Do?
The law prohibits social media platforms from providing these addictive feeds to anyone under age 18 unless the platform can verify the user’s age or obtain verifiable parental consent. Platforms are also restricted from sending nighttime notifications related to addictive feeds to minors between midnight and 6 a.m. without parental consent.
How Is Age Verified?
Social media companies must use certified age assurance methods to confirm a user’s age. These methods are required to meet strict accuracy and reliability standards and be periodically tested and certified. The law allows multiple approaches including age verification with government IDs and less intrusive methods that don’t require ID or account creation.
Parental Consent and Controls
If a minor wants to access addictive feeds or nighttime notifications, the platform must first receive approval from the child to request parental consent. Platforms must provide clear notices about the law and allow parents and minors to easily grant, modify, or withdraw consent. The law ensures parental consent methods respect privacy and do not require exposing detailed user activity.
Who Must Comply?
The regulations apply to social media platforms with significant user bases—those where at least 20% of the time spent on the platform is on addictive feeds and with a minimum number of minor users. Smaller platforms may be exempt unless they primarily serve minors.
Public Comment Period
The draft regulations are now open for public comment until December 1, 2025. The New York Attorney General’s Office encourages parents, educators, mental health professionals, consumer advocates, industry participants, and other members of the public to share their views.
Written comments can be submitted via email to ProtectNYKidsOnline@ag.ny.gov.
After the comment period closes, the Attorney General’s Office has up to a year to finalize the rules. The SAFE for Kids Act will take effect 180 days after final regulations are published.
David Carlucci consults organizations on navigating government and securing funding. He served for ten years in the New York Senate.
