S 3412 — Requires Social Media Research Center to research and make recommendations concerning addictive social media behaviors.*

S3412 1R SCS [First Reprint]   SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATE, No.

  CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT      SubstituteAs asamended adopted by the SenateGeneral Health,Assembly Humanon ServicesJune and30, Senior2026. Citizens Committee.

            1.   1.   The Legislature finds and declares that:            a.    a.   The United States Surgeon General released an advisory on social media and youth mental health in May 2023, finding that:            (1)  (1)  up to 95 percent of American minors between ages 13 through 17 reported using a social media platform;

          (2)  (2)  individuals experience critical stages of brain development during childhood and adolescence, making these age groups more vulnerable to harms from social media;

          (3)  (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)  (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)  (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)  (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.   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.    c.   In 2024, a bipartisan coalition of 42 attorneys general urged the use of warning labels on social media platforms.

          d.   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.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.

 The      commission,e.   whichOn includedSeptember education15, officials,2025, medicalthe andcommission mentalissued healtha professionals,recommendation policyfor experts,the communityNew stakeholders,Jersey parents,Legislature to address social media platform functions and students,features wasthat taskedmay withcause studyingharm to young people.  Specifically, the prevalencecommission ofadvised the Legislature to require social media usageplatforms into:  and      outside(1)  ofcreate publicdevelopmentally schoolsappropriate digital experiences for youth that prioritize safety and examininglimit thefeatures effectsthat ofmay socialincrease mediaharm usagewithout onblocking youngaccess people’sto healtheducational andcontent academicfrom performance.medical professionals;

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 Specifically,and the      commission(3)  advisedproactively thedevelop, Legislatureimplement, and continuously refine robust safety mechanisms and reporting tools aimed at identifying, preventing, and responding to requirecyberbullying, socialbias, mediadiscrimination, platformschild to:exploitation, and abuse on their platforms.

           f.    (1)  1[On createJanuary developmentally20, appropriate2026, digitalGovernor experiencesMikie forSherrill youthsigned thatExecutive prioritizeOrder safetyNo. 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.     On January 20, 2026, Governor Mikie Sherrill signed Executive Order No.

          g.   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.

          h.   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.   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.    a.   A1[A] a1 sole proprietorship, a limited liability company, a corporation, an association, or any other legal entity that: 1[that]1:            (1)  (1)  1that1 owns, operates, controls, or provides an online service or generates the majority of its annual revenue from online services;

          (2)  (2)  1that1 conducts business in this State;

          (3)  (3)  employs1[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;data] whose online services are reasonably likely to be accessed by a child or minor1;

and           (4)  (4)  (a) (a) 1that1 has 1annual1 gross revenue in excess of $25,000,000.  Beginning January 1, 2029, and every 21[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)  (b)  1that1 annually processes the personal data of not less than 25,000 users1[users] consumers1 or households;

or           b.   b.   A1[A] a1 person that controls or is controlled by a legal entity described in subsection a.

          “Covered1[“Covered] A “covered1 online service providers”1[providers” are controllerscontrollers] 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 any1[any service provided over the Internet that collects, uses, stores, discloses, analyzes, deletes, or modifies the personal data of consumers.consumers] a service or product that:  (1) is accessible to the public via the Internet;

 (2)     displays 3.   content Thethat Socialis Mediagenerated Researchby Center,one inor coordinationmore withaccount theholders; Office of Youth Online Mental Health Safety and Awareness within the Department of Health, shall research and make recommendations regarding:       a.     The impact of addictive social media behaviors among children and minors on public health;

    (3) b.   has Thean structureaccount andholder designin ofthis warningState; 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 children and minors and reduce any burden to be placed upon covered online service providers.

 Theand research(4) shallallows includeaccount anholders examinationto ofinteract warningwith labelscontent displayed: associated     with (1)  other whenindividual a covered child or covered minor creates an account withholders anas online service owned, operated, controlled, or provided by a coveredcentral onlinefeature serviceof provider;the service.

          (2)  “Online theservice” firstdoes timenot eachinclude:  day      a.   a covered“telecommunications childservice,” oras coveredthat minorterm accessesis ordefined exitsin an47 onlineU.S.C. service owned, operated, controlled, or provided by a covered online service provider;