U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy has introduced the In Real Life Act, federal legislation aimed at addressing record-high rates of loneliness and social isolation by taxing large social media companies and funding community programs designed to bring people together in person.

The bill would impose a 50% tax on digital advertising revenue exceeding $10 billion for the largest algorithmic social media platforms, with lower rates for revenue below that threshold and an exemption for the first $500 million in revenue. Publishers such as newspapers, television outlets and non-algorithmic websites would not be subject to the tax, and companies could reduce their rate by disabling addictive algorithmic features or breaking into smaller entities.

Murphy said the legislation is meant to reverse a broader shift away from in-person connection. "We don't have to accept the transition from in-person connection to online isolation. Massive social media platforms knowingly addict us to screens and harm our kids to boost their profits. These big tech companies have gotten a free pass for far too long, and the least they can do is pay to rebuild the spaces that actually bring us together—in real life."

Three-quarters of the resulting Social Capital Fund would go to local and tribal governments using the same formula as the federal Community Development Block Grant program, with the remaining quarter awarded competitively to community-based programs; the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development would administer the fund.

The IRL Act pairs the digital advertising tax with direct investment in local institutions and programs, an approach designed to rebuild in-person community connection at a time of record-high loneliness and distrust nationwide.