Common Sense Media, Child Safety Groups Applaud Final Regulations Under New York’s SAFE for Kids Act

NEW YORK, July 28, 2026 — Common Sense Media and other child safety advocacy groups extended their strong support for final regulations issued today under New York's SAFE for Kids Act, which protects children from addictive social media feeds.

Following Governor Kathy Hochul's signing of the legislation in 2024, which Common Sense Media actively supported, Attorney General Letitia James carefully drafted a set of rules for implementing and enforcing the law. Common Sense Media led a coalition of groups to provide comprehensive feedback on the Attorney's General's draft regulations. Common Sense Media and several of its parent and teen advocates joined Gov. Hochul and AG James at a roundtable discussion in Brooklyn Tuesday morning where the new regulations were announced.

Common Sense Media Founder and CEO James P. Steyer praised SAFE For Kids and the new regulations. "The SAFE for Kids Act and these new final rules to implement and enforce it have the potential to be a transformative step forward in protecting children in New York from the addictive design features of social media," Steyer said. "We applaud Governor Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James, and the state lawmakers who championed this landmark law, and we appreciate the tremendous amount of work by the Attorney General and her team that went into developing the final regulations to implement and enforce the SAFE for Kids Act. New York is setting a national standard for protecting kids online by focusing on curbing addictive social media feeds and limiting late-night notifications that disrupt children's sleep and well-being. There is more work to do to protect kids from the risks of AI and social media, but this law and its final rules are groundbreaking."

The final regulations:

• Establish strong and reasonable age assurance standards. The regulations make clear how covered social media platforms can determine whether a user is a minor by using commercially reasonable and technically feasible methods, while requiring companies to minimize the collection and retention of personal information.
• Implement the law's restrictions on addictive features. The rules operationalize the SAFE for Kids Act by requiring platforms to disable addictive feeds and overnight push notifications for minors unless they have verifiable parental consent.
• Set standards for verifiable parental consent. The regulations outline how platforms may obtain verifiable parental consent before enabling addictive feeds or nighttime notifications for minors, helping ensure consent is authentic and reliable.
• Clarify compliance obligations for platforms. The rules detail which companies are covered by the law, explain key compliance requirements, and provide the framework the Attorney General will use to enforce the SAFE for Kids Act once the regulations go into effect.

On September 30, 2024, Common Sense Media filed comments in response to the New York AG's Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. Those comments were co-signed by two other organizations. And, on December 1, 2025, after the New York AG released the draft rules, Common Sense Media filed comments that an additional five organizations co-signed. More information on the SAFE for Kids Act can be found here.

Dr. Jeff Kazcorowski, Chair, NYS American Academy of Pediatrics also applauded the new regulations. "As pediatricians, we see firsthand the growing impact that excessive and addictive social media use is having on children's health," Dr. Kazcorowski said. "Healthy brain development depends on adequate sleep, strong family relationships, and time spent learning, playing, and interacting with others. These rules are an important step toward creating healthier digital environments by limiting features that are intentionally designed to keep young people scrolling for hours. Children deserve technology that supports their wellbeing."

Julie Scelfo, founder and Executive Director of Mothers Against Media Addiction (MAMA), praised the new regulations. "By directly targeting addictive feeds, New York is setting a national standard for child online safety," Scelfo said. "These new rules to enforce the SAFE for Kids Act provide a straightforward plan for how other states can now make similar changes. Thanks to the work of Attorney General James, her staff and parents and advocates across the state, New York has proven that the health and well-being of our children truly is our number one concern."

About Common Sense Media

Common Sense Media is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the research-backed information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in the age of apps, algorithms, and AI. We rate, educate, and advocate to protect and prepare kids online. Our ratings, research, and resources reach more than 150 million users globally, over 1.4 million educators, and more than 100,000 schools worldwide every year.