S 3412

[First Reprint]
SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE, No. 3412
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
� ADOPTED
JUNE 11, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� RAJ MUKHERJI
District 32 (Hudson)
Senator� LINDA R. GREENSTEIN
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblywoman� ANDREA KATZ
District 8 (Atlantic and Burlington)
Assemblyman� CODY D. MILLER
District 4 (Atlantic, Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblywoman� MITCHELLE DRULIS
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Beach, Moriarty, Turner, McKnight, Assemblywomen
Park, Morales, Assemblyman Kearney, Assemblywomen Bagolie, Peterpaul,
Assemblymen Sampson, Freiman and Spearman
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires Social Media Research Center to research and
make recommendations concerning addictive social media behaviors.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As amended by the General Assembly on June 30, 2026.
An Act concerning social media research 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.�� The
Legislature finds and declares that:�
����� a.�� The
United States Surgeon General released an advisory on social media and youth
mental health in May 2023, finding that:�
����� (1)� up
to 95 percent of American minors between ages 13 through 17 reported using a
social media platform;
����� (2)� individuals
experience critical stages of brain development during childhood and
adolescence, making these age groups more vulnerable to harms from social
media;
����� (3)� children
may experience harmful effects from social media usage depending on the amount
of time spent on social media platforms, the type of content they consume or
are otherwise exposed to, and the degree to which their social media usage
disrupts activities that are essential for health, such as sleep and physical
activity;
����� (4)� recent
research shows that adolescents who spend more than three hours per day on
social media face double the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes,
such as symptoms of depression and anxiety;
����� (5)� exposure
to certain social media content may perpetuate body dissatisfaction, disordered
eating behaviors, social comparison, and low self-esteem, especially among
adolescent girls; and
����� (6)� extreme,
inappropriate, and harmful content continues to be widely accessible by
children and adolescents and, in certain cases, childhood deaths have been
linked to suicide- and self-harm-related content and risk-taking challenges on
social media platforms.
����� b.�� Heavier
usage of social media also leads to less healthy sleep patterns and sleep
quality, which can in turn exacerbate both physical and mental health problems.
����� c.�� In
2024, a bipartisan coalition of 42 attorneys general urged the use of warning
labels on social media platforms.
����� d.�� In
2023, P.L.2023, c.126 established the New Jersey Commission on the Effects of
Social Media Usage on Adolescents (commission) in response to mounting public
concern over the role of digital platforms in the lives of young people.� The
commission, which included education officials, medical and mental health
professionals, policy experts, community stakeholders, parents, and students,
was tasked with studying the prevalence of social media usage in and outside of
public schools and examining the effects of social media usage on young
people�s health and academic performance.
����� e.�� On
September 15, 2025, the commission issued a recommendation for the New Jersey
Legislature to address social media platform functions and features that may
cause harm to young people.� Specifically, the commission advised the
Legislature to require social media platforms to:�
����� (1)� create
developmentally appropriate digital experiences for youth that prioritize
safety and limit features that may increase harm without blocking access to
educational content from medical professionals;
����� (2)� implement
strong default privacy settings for minors, restrict data collection and
third-party access, protect against targeted advertising, invasive tracking,
and addictive design features, and restrict notifications during designated
times; and
����� (3)� proactively
develop, implement, and continuously refine robust safety mechanisms and
reporting tools aimed at identifying, preventing, and responding to
cyberbullying, bias, discrimination, child exploitation, and abuse on their
platforms.
����� f.��� 1[On January 20, 2026, Governor Mikie Sherrill signed
Executive Order No. 6 establishing the Office of Youth Online Mental Health
Safety and Awareness (office) within the Department of Health.� The Governor
directed the office, in conjunction with the Office of the Chief Operating
Officer and Executive Branch departments and agencies, to collect and analyze
the data, information, and recommendations generated by the departments and
agencies to develop and refine recommendations for actions the State, or instrumentalities
of the State, to take to guide youth in the responsible use of online and
social media platforms.� Governor Sherrill also directed the office, after the
establishment of a research center at a State institution of higher education
focused on the relationship between digital technology and children�s mental
health and wellbeing, to discharge its functions in close coordination and
collaboration with that research center.
����� g.]1 New Jersey and the United States are facing an
ongoing youth mental health crisis, with rates of adolescent suicides,
depressive episodes, and feelings of sadness and hopelessness increasing
significantly in recent years.
����� 1[h.] g.1��� For these reasons, it is essential for the Legislature to take action
to ensure that youth, their families, and the public are warned of, and
protected against, the risks of social media use.
����� 2.�� As
used in P.L.    , c.
(C.        ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill):�
����� �Actual
knowledge� includes all information and inferences known to the covered online
service provider relating to the age of the individual, including, but not
limited to, self-identified age, age flags, a commercially-reasonable and
technically-feasible age verification mechanism, and any age the covered online
service provider has attributed to, or associated with, the individual for any
purpose, including marketing, advertising, or product development.� If the age
of an individual attributed by a covered online service provider for purposes
of marketing or advertising is inconsistent with the individual�s
self-identified age, a covered online service provider shall disregard the
self-identified age for purposes of P.L.    , c.
(C.        ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill).
����� �Addictive
social media behaviors� means any behavior, as determined by the Commissioner
of Health, that may negatively impact a user�s health as measured by, among
other metrics, a user�s cumulative daily use of a covered online service
provider, or the frequency with which a user accesses a covered online service
provider.
����� �Center�
means the Social Media Research Center.
����� �Child�
means an individual under the age of 13.
����� �Commissioner�
means the Commissioner of Health.
����� �Covered
child� means an individual who a covered online service provider has actual
knowledge is a child.
����� �Covered
minor� means an individual who a covered online service provider has actual
knowledge is a minor.
����� �Covered
online service provider� means:�
����� a.�� 1[A] a1 sole proprietorship, a limited liability company, a corporation, an
association, or any other legal entity 1[that]1:�
����� (1)� 1that1 owns, operates, controls, or provides an online service or generates the
majority of its annual revenue from online services;
����� (2)� 1that1 conducts business in this State;
����� (3)� 1[employs users� personally identifiable information
to select, recommend, or prioritize media and alone, or jointly with others,
determines the purposes and means of processing users� personal data] whose online services are reasonably likely to
be accessed by a child or minor1; and
����� (4)� (a)
1that1 has 1annual1 gross revenue in excess of $25,000,000.� Beginning January 1, 2029, and
every 1[2] two1 years thereafter, the Department of the Treasury shall adjust the amount
of annual gross revenue to reflect the percentage change in the Consumer Price
Index; or
����� (b)� 1that1 annually processes the personal data of not less than 25,000 1[users] consumers1 or households; or
����� b.�� 1[A] a1 person that controls or is controlled by a legal entity described in
subsection a. of this definition and that shares common branding with the legal
entity.
����� 1[�Covered] A �covered1 online service 1[providers� are controllers] provider� is a controller1 for the purpose of P.L.2023, c.266 (C.56:8-166.4 et
seq.).
����� 1A �covered online service provider� does not include
an entity that solely provides a direct messaging service or product.1
����� �Minor�
means an individual who is at least 13 years of age but less than 18 years of
age.
����� �Online
service� means 1[any service provided over the Internet that
collects, uses, stores, discloses, analyzes, deletes, or modifies the personal
data of consumers] a service or product that:� (1) is accessible to
the public via the Internet; (2) displays content that is generated by one or
more account holders; (3) has an account holder in this State; and (4) allows
account holders to interact with content associated with other individual
account holders as a central feature of the service.
����� �Online
service� does not include:�
����� a.�� a
�telecommunications service,� as that term is defined in 47 U.S.C. s.153;
����� b.��
a �broadband internet access service,� as that term is defined in 47 C.F.R.
s.8.1;
����� c.�� an
email service; or
����� d.�� the
sale, delivery, or use of a physical product1.
����� 3.�� The
Social Media Research Center, in coordination with the Office of Youth Online
Mental Health Safety and Awareness within the Department of Health, shall
research and make recommendations regarding:�
����� a.�� 1[The] the1 impact of addictive social media behaviors among 1covered1 children and 1covered1 minors on public health;
����� b.�� 1[The] the1 structure and design of warning labels on online services owned,
operated, controlled, or provided by covered online service providers, if any,
that are designed to reduce addictive social media behaviors among 1covered1 children and 1covered1 minors and reduce any burden to be placed upon covered online service
providers.� The research shall include an examination of warning labels
displayed:�
����� (1)� when
a covered child or covered minor creates an account with an online service
owned, operated, controlled, or provided by a covered online service provider;
����� (2)� the
first time each day a covered child or covered minor accesses or exits an
online service owned, operated, controlled, or provided by a covered online
service provider;
����� (3)� after
a covered child or covered minor spends an established period of cumulative
daily use on an online service owned, operated, controlled, or provided by a
covered online service provider; and
����� (4)� upon
detection of addictive social media behavior by a covered child or covered
minor;
����� c.�� 1[The] the1 impact, if any, of warning labels on online services owned, operated,
controlled, or provided by covered online service providers at reducing
addictive social media behaviors among covered children and covered minors; and
����� d.�� 1[The] the1 impact, if any, of including mandatory disclaimers concerning addictive
social media behaviors among 1covered1 children and 1[minor users] covered minors1, and any resources to mitigate those behaviors, in
the advertising of online services owned, operated, controlled, or provided by
covered online service providers.
���� 4.��� No later than 18 months
after the effective date of P.L.    , c.    (C.        )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill) or P.L.    ,
c.    (C.        )
(pending before the Legislature as Assembly Bill No. 4014 and Senate Bill No.
3411 of 2026-2027), whichever is later, the center shall issue a final report containing
the center�s findings and recommendations to deter or mitigate addictive social
media behaviors to the Governor and the Department of Health, and to the
Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), based upon
the research findings identified pursuant to section 3 of
P.L.    , c.
(C.        ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill).
����� 5.�� The
commissioner shall review the center�s final report.� The commissioner may, in
consultation with the Department of Human Services, the Department of Children
and Families, and the Department of Law and Public Safety, and taking into
consideration the recommendations set forth in the center�s final report issued
pursuant to section 4 of P.L.    , c.
(C.        ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill), adopt such rules and regulations pursuant to the
�Administrative Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) 1,1 as deemed appropriate to implement the
recommendations contained therein 1[no later than 30 months after the effective date of
P.L.    , c.
(C.        ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill) or P.L.    , c.
(C.        ) (pending before the
Legislature as Assembly Bill No. 4014 and Senate Bill No. 3411 of 2026-2027),
whichever is later,]1 and to deter and reduce addictive social media
behaviors among 1covered1 children and 1covered1 minors.
���� 6.��� If any clause, sentence,
paragraph, subparagraph, subsection, section or part of P.L.    ,
c.    (C.        ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill) shall be adjudged by any court of
competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair,
or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to
the clause, sentence, paragraph, subparagraph, subsection, section or part
thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have
been rendered.� It is hereby declared to be the intent of the Legislature that P.L.    ,
c.    (C.        ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill) would have been enacted even if such
invalid provisions had not been included herein.
���� 7.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.