New Jersey Signs New Laws Targeting Social Media’s Impact on Kids

New Jersey is putting new restrictions on how social media and online platforms can treat kids.

Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed three bills into law Tuesday focused on protecting minors online, including new rules around privacy, data collection and features designed to keep young users glued to their screens.

The biggest piece of the package is the New Jersey Kids Code Act.

The law requires certain online platforms used by children to put their safety and privacy first. That means stronger privacy settings by default, limits on collecting kids’ personal information and additional protections involving interactions between minors and adults.

It also takes aim at some of the features that can keep kids endlessly scrolling or repeatedly coming back to an app.

Those requirements are expected to take effect in September 2027.

New Jersey is also creating a Social Media Research Center to study how social media and other digital technology are affecting young people. Another part of the package calls for research into warning labels and other ways to address potentially addictive features.

The laws come as states across the country are putting more pressure on social media companies over how their platforms affect children.

Right next door, Pennsylvania is taking a different approach.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday filed a lawsuit against TikTok, alleging the company misled consumers about whether the app was appropriate for teenagers and failed to adequately protect younger users from harmful content.

For parents here in Jersey, these new laws could eventually change some of what their kids experience when they open an app.

Whether they actually make social media safer for kids is something we’ll have to see.

Jersey parents: Do you think the state needed to step in, or should this be left up to parents?