Age Limit Proposed For Social Media Use In New NJ Bill

NEW JERSEY — Newly-introduced legislation would require New Jersey children to get parental consent to sign up for social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram if they are under 18 years of age.

The bill, introduced this week by Assemblyman Herb Conaway Jr. (D-NJ-7), is the latest effort by Garden State legislators to protect youth mental health and personal safety online. Conaway, who chairs the Assembly Health Committee, told Politico that social media “really has been horrific on the mental health and the physical health of our young people,” particularly teenagers and girls, in an interview last week.

Bill A5750 also would prohibit certain messaging between adults and minors on social media platforms, according to the legislative summary. The full text of the bill is not yet available online; Patch has reached out to Conaway’s office to learn more about what the bill entails.

Not many other states have enacted laws that require age verification for social media use; Utah became the first to do so earlier this year. Others, such as Arkansas, faced legal challenges from the American Civil Liberties Union which argued that laws requiring users to provide personal information to verify their age “stifle freedom of expression online.”

Dillon Reisman, an attorney for the ACLU of NJ, cautioned that this bill “ would violate everyone’s constitutional right to speak anonymously and safely engage online.”

“Not just young people, but individuals of all ages, rely on social media to participate in their communities, connect with their peers, and express themselves,” Reisman said. “Beyond that, social media is a vital resource that young people use to learn important information affecting their own health and wellbeing.”

Reisman went on to say that Conaway’s proposed bill “would especially harm LGBTQ+ youth who rely on online communities for health resources and emotional support.”

Increased efforts to tackle youth mental health issue

New Jersey lawmakers have been working on bills around the subject of student mental health as rates of teen anxiety and depression continue to increase, and after a 14-year-old Ocean County teenager died by suicide in early February.

Up to 95 percent of youth aged 13-17 say they use social media, with more than one-third saying they are on social media “almost constantly,” the Surgeon General’s office said earlier this year. And, close to 40 percent of children aged 8-12 use social media despite the fact that the minimum age to join many social platforms is 13, according to the May report by Dr. Vivek Murthy.

Data from 2021 shows that 16 percent of high school students said they had been electronically bullied through social media or texting within the last year – more female students than male students.

New Jersey is among 42 states that have filed a federal lawsuit against Meta, alleging the social media giant is responsible for harming young people's mental health and has contributed to a mental health crisis among the country's youth.

The New Jersey Commission on the Effects of Social Media Usage on Adolescents, formed this year, is tasked with studying how social media may impact students’ emotional health and lead to instances of depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia, harassment, intimidation, and bullying.

Another bill, signed July 13, expands the type of expenses that K-12 schools may be reimbursed for to allow some school-based mental health services. The state will be able to reimburse districts statewide for students’ behavioral health services, if the students and their families are Medicaid recipients.

Conaway was also the primary sponsor of an Assembly resolution (AR167) urging the President and Congress to enact legislation requiring parental consent for children 13 years of age and younger to use social media and certain websites.

Related article:

• Social Media's Impact On Youth Mental Health: What NJ Is Doing