NC Children's Safe Screens Act/Funds.
The NC Children's Safe Screens Act aims to enhance online safety for minors by creating an Online Safety Division and a commission focused on protecting children's online activities. Covered platforms will be required to provide parental controls and adhere to strict guidelines against harmful content and manipulative design.
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SB 1033 — NC Children's Safe Screens Act/Funds.
Last action — Withdrawn From Com
No card. One bill, free forever — alerts when it moves.
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✓Introduced
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2In Committee
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3Passed Senate
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4Passed House
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5To Executive
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6Enacted
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced April 30, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.
Prognosis
Where this bill stands today.
Odds of enactment
LowHow often bills like it became law.
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In Committee
Current position in the legislative process.
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5 sponsors
2 primary, 3 co-sponsors signed on.
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Single-party support
Sponsorship is currently within one party (5 D).
Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.
In plain language
This bill establishes protections for children online and creates an online safety division in NC.
The NC Children's Safe Screens Act aims to enhance online safety for minors by creating an Online Safety Division and a commission focused on protecting children's online activities. Covered platforms will be required to provide parental controls and adhere to strict guidelines against harmful content and manipulative design.
What this means for you
- Children: This means better online protection and supervision for minors when using popular social media and gaming platforms.
Bill Text
What changed in the latest version
27 added · 28 removedPlain-language change summary
In the latest version of SB 1033, the bill added specific regulatory authority for a new Commission to adopt binding rules on age verification and transparency for platforms that engage with children. This is significant because it enhances the state's ability to protect children online by ensuring that companies clearly communicate their policies and practices regarding age-related content. Additionally, the Commission will now need to publish annual transparency reports and audit educational programs, which aims to improve accountability and foster a safer environment for children.
FILED SENATE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA AprSESSION 30,2025 2026S S.B.1 SENATE BILL 1033 Short Title:
1033 SESSION 2025 PRINCIPAL CLERK S D SENATE BILL DRS15457-LRa-168 Short Title:
Rules and Operations of the Senate May 4, 2026 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT ENACTING THE NORTH CAROLINA CHILDREN'S SAFE SCREENS ACT TO PROTECT CHILDREN ONLINE, ESTABLISHING THE ONLINE SAFETY DIVISION AT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND THE CYBERBULLYING UNIT AT THE STATE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, CREATING THE NORTH CAROLINA ONLINE CHILD SAFETY COMMISSION, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS FOR THOSE PURPOSES.
The Fund shall receive appropriations by the General Assembly and any *DRS15457-LRa-168**S1033-v-1* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 gifts, grants, or donations accepted for that purpose.
The Commission shall report annuallyannuallyto to the General Assembly on Fund expenditures and outcomes." 4 ENACT NORTH CAROLINA CHILDREN'S SAFE SCREENS ACT/CREATE ONLINE SAFETY COMMISSION SECTION 2.(a) Children's Online Safety.
(a) It is the public policypolicyof of this State that its children are owed a duty of care with regard to their online activities in order to limit foreseeable harm and their exposure to dark patterns and harmful content on covered platforms.
Page 2 DRS15457-LRa-168Senate Bill 1033-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (f) Covered platforms shall utilize the highest privacy settings by default for all users reasonably likely to be children and shall establish strict data minimization principles to include the following:
(c) The Commission shall refer all matters requiring judicial enforcement to the Attorney General, whoseauthoritywhoseauthorityto to bringcivil actions underthis Chapteris exclusive.exclusive.TheCommission's authorityto seekinjunctivereliefislimitedto emergencyinterimreliefpendingAttorneyGeneral action.
TheCommission's authoritytoseekinjunctivereliefislimitedto emergencyinterimreliefpendingAttorneyGeneral action.
– The North Carolina Online Child Safety Commission (Online Safety CommissionorCommission) is established as aregulatoryaregulatorybodywithintheDepartment body withintheDepartment ofJustice with oversight authority on matters relating to the safety and wellbeing of minors in digital environments.
(1) One (1) member with expertise in child development and psychology (2) One (1) member with expertise in digital technology and data ethics DRS15457-LRa-168Senate Bill 1033-First Edition Page 3 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (3) One (1) member representing parents or guardians (4) One (1) member with expertise in cybersecurity and privacy (5) One (1) member with expertise in education (6) One (1) member with legal expertise in child protection (7) One (1) youth advocate between the ages of 18 and 25.
The Commission shall be supported bybya a professional staff led bybyan an Executive Director.
(1) RegulatoryRegulatoryauthorityto authority to adopt bindingbindingregulations regulations concerning age verification, minor account data practices, default safety settings, complaint procedures, and platform transparency disclosures.
This authorityauthorityincludes includes adopting rules for device-level and platform level age assurance as alternatives to site-by-site verification.
Page 4 DRS15457-LRa-168Senate Bill 1033-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (8) Conduct or commission research on emerging online risks to children, collect andanalyzedataontheprevalenceandimpactofonlineharms,monitorglobal developments in online safety regulation, and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions and regulations.
DRS15457-LRa-168Senate Bill 1033-First Edition Page 5 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (j) Industry Engagement.
– The Commission shall publish annual transparencytransparencyreports reports detailing:
– The Commission shall annuallyannuallyaudit audit and evaluate:
(3) EmployEmployexperts experts capable ofevaluatingplatformalgorithmsofevaluatingplatform andalgorithms safetyandsafetysystems. systems.
(b) If any provision of this Article is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, void, or unenforceable, in whole or in part, the decision shall not affect the validity, Page 6 DRS15457-LRa-168Senate Bill 1033-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 enforceability, or applicability of the remaining provisions, which shall remain in full force and effect as if the provision held invalid, void, or unenforceable had not been included." 4 IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE/REVIEW SECTION 3.(a) Implementation timeline.
SECTION 3.(d) ReviewandAdaptation.–Everythreeyears,theCommissionshall:ReviewandAdaptation.–Everythree years,theCommissionshall:
SECTION 5.(b) Effective JulyJuly1, 1, 2026, there is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Justice, Children's Online Safety Fund, the sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) in non-recurring funds for the 2026-2027 fiscal year to fund its work as provided by this act.
DRS15457-LRa-168Senate Bill 1033-First Edition Page 7 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 EFFECTIVE DATE SECTION 6.
Page 8 DRS15457-LRa-168Senate Bill 1033-First Edition
Compared against the N.C. General Statutes as published AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.
The bill establishes a new Children's Online Safety Fund and modifies the remittance of civil penalty proceeds to fund online child safety initiatives.
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G.S. 115C-457.2
The clear proceeds of these funds include the full amount of all civil penalties, civil forfeitures, and civil fines collected under authority conferred by the State, diminished only by the actual costs of collection, not to exceed twenty percent (20%) of the amount collected.→ The clear proceeds of penalties so assessed shall be remitted to the Civil Penalty and Forfeiture Fund in accordance with G.S. 115C-457.2.The proceeds from penalties imposed under the new Chapter 114B will be added to the existing Civil Penalty and Forfeiture Fund.
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There is established in the Department of Justice a special fund to be known as the Children's Online Safety Fund (Fund). The Fund shall be administered by the Commission and used exclusively for prevention, education, and enforcement activities under Chapter 114B of the General Statutes.
A new Children's Online Safety Fund is created, specifically designated for child online safety initiatives.
Action History
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Withdrawn From Com
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Re-ref Com On Appropriations/Base Budget
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Passed 1st Reading
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Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate
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Filed
Sponsors
- Joyce Waddell · Cosponsor
- Sydney Batch · Cosponsor
- DeAndrea Salvador · Primary
- Michael Garrett · Primary
- Kandie D. Smith · Cosponsor
Sponsorship breakdown
Export CSV (upgrade) →2 sponsors · 3 co-sponsors · 174 not signed on
Sponsors (2)
- DeAndrea Salvador Democratic
- Michael Garrett Democratic
Co-sponsors (3)
- Joyce Waddell Democratic
- Sydney Batch Democratic
- Kandie D. Smith Democratic
Not signed on (174)
174 members have not signed on to this bill.
Show all 174 →"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.
Subjects
Frequently asked questions
- Who sponsors SB 1033?
- SB 1033 is sponsored by Joyce Waddell (Democratic), Sydney Batch (Democratic), DeAndrea Salvador (Democratic), Michael Garrett (Democratic), and Kandie D. Smith (Democratic).
- What is the current status of SB 1033?
- This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced April 30, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
- Where can I track SB 1033?
- Track SB 1033 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.
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