The General Assembly on Tuesday passed a three-bill package sponsored by Assemblywoman Andrea Katz that addresses the growing youth mental health crisis and strengthens protections for minors online.
“Social media has become a central part of daily life for young people, but we are learning more and more about the risks that can come with excessive use, addictive platform features, and the collection of minors’ personal data,” said Assemblywoman Katz (D-Atlantic, Burlington). “As a mom of three teenagers, I know social media isn’t going anywhere. Our responsibility is to make sure the digital world is safer for kids. This package takes a thoughtful, comprehensive approach by strengthening privacy protections, investing in research, and giving policymakers the information they need to better protect children while helping families and educators support healthier online habits.”
Bill A4015, known as the “New Jersey Kids Code Act,” would require covered online service providers to strengthen privacy safeguards for minors. This would include applying the highest available privacy settings by default for users who are known to be minors. The bill would limit how minors’ personal data may be collected and used, prohibit providers from encouraging minors to weaken certain privacy protections, and require a way for minors and parents to report harms they have experienced on an online service. It would also require covered online service providers to provide a prominent and constant real-time signal when precise geolocation information is being collected or used or the online activity is being monitored by an individual. Assemblywomen Marisa Sweeney and Luanne Peterpaul also sponsored the legislation.
Bill A4014 would, subject to appropriation, establish a social media research center at a four-year public institution of higher education selected by the Secretary of Higher Education, in coordination with the Office of Youth Online Mental health Safety and Awareness in the Department of Health. The center would conduct interdisciplinary research on social media use and its effects on New Jersey residents; develop educational resources on safe social media use for schools; provide policy recommendations to State leaders, and support research efforts through a grant program. Assemblywoman Carmen Morales also sponsored the bill.
Bill A4013 would direct the Social Media Research Center, in coordination with the Department of Health’s Office of Youth Online Mental Health Safety and Awareness, to research, and make recommendations regarding, addictive social media behaviors among children and adolescents and examine strategies to reduce those behaviors. Assemblyman Cody Miller and Assemblywoman Mitchelle Drulis also sponsored the bill.
The package follows recommendations from the New Jersey Commission on the Effects of Social Media Usage on Adolescents, legislatively created in 2023 to study the prevalence of social media use among young people and its effects on their health, well-being, and academic performance. In a 2025 report, the commission recommended stronger privacy protections for minors, more research into the effects of social media, and more action to address features on platforms that may lead to harmful outcomes for children and adolescents.