JAMA Netw Open. 2026 Sep 1;9(9):e2626965. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.26965.
ABSTRACT
IMPORTANCE: Social media use has grown rapidly, with particularly high adoption among adolescents. These patterns carry both risks, such as problematic use, and potential benefits, such as social connection, creating challenges for policymakers developing regulatory approaches.
OBJECTIVE: To synthesize existing evidence and policy approaches related to legislative efforts addressing adolescent social media use and to assess the potential risks, benefits, and evidence gaps associated with commonly proposed or implemented policy strategies.
EVIDENCE REVIEW: Evidence was identified through database searches from PubMed and Web of Science focused on policies and legislative proposals from August 1, 2003, to March 22, 2026, targeting adolescent social media use. Policy categories included warning labels, age restrictions and assurance (eg, verification), parental consent and monitoring, school phone policies, platform design regulations, and legislation addressing deepfakes and nonconsensual intimate images.
FINDINGS: The search yielded 672 articles, of which 39 met inclusion criteria. Most publications addressed parental consent and monitoring (n = 12), deepfakes and nonconsensual intimate images (n = 8), age restrictions and assurance (n = 7), and design bills (n = 6), with fewer articles examining school phone policies (n = 4) and warning labels (n = 2). Warning labels may increase awareness of potential risks, although data largely consisted of expert opinion. Age assurance measures were commonly circumvented, and proposed biometric or artificial intelligence (AI)-based verification methods had unresolved challenges. Parental monitoring and consent were associated with lower problematic social media use and positive adolescent outcomes in survey-based publications. School phone restriction policies were widely adopted, but evidence regarding academic, social, or mental health effects was limited. Design-focused legislation, such as the Kids Online Safety Act and Age-Appropriate Design Bills, emphasized platform accountability, transparency, and safeguards for minors. Policies addressing AI-generated sexual deepfakes and nonconsensual intimate images aimed to reduce exposure to psychologically harmful material, although evaluation of their effectiveness was limited.
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this review of legislative approaches to adolescent social media, observational and expert-opinion publications provided preliminary insights into potential benefits and risks, but systematic evidence evaluating the effectiveness and unintended consequences was limited. Rapid research, including timely evaluation of newly enacted legislation, is needed to assess the effects of different policy approaches and support the iterative, collaborative development of theory-driven, child-centered policies.
PMID:42720948 | DOI:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.26965
