S 3411

SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE, No. 3411
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
� ADOPTED
JUNE 28, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� RAJ MUKHERJI
District 32 (Hudson)
Senator� LINDA R. GREENSTEIN
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Beach, Moriarty and Turner
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes Social Media Research Center at four-year
public institution of higher education.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Substitute as adopted by the Senate Budget and
Appropriations Committee.
An Act establishing a Social Media Research Center and
supplementing chapter 62 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
���� Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
����� 1.�
a.� There is established a Social Media Research Center, hereinafter referred
to as the center, at a four-year public institution of higher education,
subject to appropriation. The purpose of the center shall be to carry out
collaborative and interdisciplinary research to create and support the use of
impartial and actionable science to advance efforts in understanding social
media use, mitigating the negative impacts of social media, and promoting
healthy and responsible social media use.
����� b.�
The Secretary of Higher Education, in coordination with the Office of Youth
Online Mental Health Safety and Awareness in the Department of Health, shall
select a four-year public institution of higher education to host the center
based upon, at a minimum, institutional capacity, interest, and existing
expertise. The host institution shall provide the administrative support
necessary to facilitate the center�s functioning, including oversight by the
institution�s existing research review procedures.
����� c.�
The center�s research, analysis, and outreach activities shall include, but not
be limited to:
����� (1)�
studying the impacts of social media consumption on the residents of the State
and mitigating any negative impacts of such consumption;
����� (2)�
making policy recommendations to the Legislature, Governor, and key
stakeholders to address the mental, physical, and behavioral health challenges
posed by social media use, particularly for children and adolescents;
����� (3)�
establishing online courses and training modules concerning safe social media
use, which shall be made available at no charge to schools in the State; and
����� (4)�
conducting research, and making recommendations, on such topics as may be
required by law related to the impact of addictive social media behaviors on
children and minors and the extent to which warning labels and other
disclaimers reduce addictive social media behaviors.
����� d.�
State departments and agencies including, but not limited to, the Department of
Health, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Education, the
Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, and the Department of Children and
Families may submit relevant research requests and questions to the center.
����� e.�
The center may administer a grant program to advance its purpose. Any State-appropriated
research funds made available under the grant program shall be awarded on the
basis of scientific merit as determined by an open, competitive peer review
process that assures objectivity, consistency, and high quality.
����� f.�
The center may solicit and accept any grants, gifts, donations, or other
additional funds from public or private sources, which may be available for
research related to social media.
����� 2.�
Notwithstanding any other law or regulation to the contrary, State departments
and agencies including, but not limited to, the Department of Health, the
Department of Education, and the Department of Children and Families shall, to
the extent practicable and feasible, provide to the Social Media Research
Center, upon request, the data necessary for the center to conduct its
research. All data transmitted to and received by the center shall be provided
in a manner that protects individuals� privacy and complies with applicable
federal and State law. To the extent the center otherwise receives or transmits
data, the center shall review and approve all relevant data use agreements or
business associate agreements in compliance with all applicable privacy and
security standards, including but not limited to, the "Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996," Pub.L.104-191 and 45 C.F.R.
160.101 to 164.534, or any other similar law.
����� 3.�� One year following the
establishment of the Social Media Research Center, and each year thereafter, the Social
Media Research Center shall submit a report to the Governor, and to the
Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), regarding
the work of the center.� The report shall include, but not be limited to,
information on the center�s current research projects, the amount and sources
of funding utilized, research requests and
questions received from State departments and agencies, and the
direction of the center�s future
research.� If the center administers a grant program for social media research,
the report shall also include information on the grants made, pending grants,
and accomplishments of the program. The report
shall also be made publicly available.
���� 4.��� The Social Media
Research Center and any recipients of grants awarded by the center shall
provide copies of their research publications that were supported by those
grants to the Governor, to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991,
c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), and to any State departments or agencies that supplied
data used in connection with that research, as soon as practicable following
publication.
���� 5.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.