Internet safety bills become law
Sherrill says they will protect children, give parents a hand
By: Katie Sobko
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... Governor Mikie Sherrill has signed three bills aimed at making the Internet safer for kids.
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At a August 11 [2026] event at the Boys & Girls Club of Hudson County, Sherrlll said crafting Online safety legislation has been a priority of her administration.
..... "With these bills, New Jersey is putting real protections in place for our kids Online and giving parent real backup so they're not fighting this battle alone," the governor said. "Accountability starts now."
..... Sherrill was joined by state Santor Raj Mukherji, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Assemblywoman Andrea Katz, as well as Saahir Vazirani, an 18-year-old advocate and co-chair of Design It For Us, a youth coalition focused on limiting the negative impact of Big Tech on the next generation.
..... Mukherji noted that although "technology may have changed, the responsibility to protect our kids has not."
..... "If a product is designed for children, if they know children are using the product, then safety and privacy should not be optional features," he said. "They should be the default settings."
..... The Kids Code Act requires big Tech to design platforms with children's best interest in mind, focusing on "safety over screen time and privacy over profit," Sherrill said.
..... It limits the data that companies can collect, increase default privacy settings and shields kids' accounts from adult users.
..... "These rules have teeth. If Big Tech breaks them both the state and families will have the power to take them to court," Sherrill said.
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She established the Office of Youth Online Mental Helaht Safety and Awareness as one of her first actions in office.
..... In addition to the bill holding tech companies accountable, Sherrill signed legislation Tuesday [08/11/2026] to cerate a Social Media Research Center and implement parameters on what the center will do.
..... That institution will focus on the impact and addictive nature of social media platforms. She said she expects it to be up and running this fall. [2026]
..... This isn't the first time Sherrill has prioritized this topic. Since her time in the House of Representatives, she has focused on the mental health crisis facing children and teens and the ways it is being compounded by social media.
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The governor, who has four children of her own, has often compared the tech industry to Big Tobacco of generations past, including during her budget address earlier this year. [2026]
..... "My four kids are between ages of 14 and 20. And I can tell you with certainty: Our country is failing our children when it comes to protection them Online," she said in a =]=]the speech. "It's personal - to me, and to millions of parents on whom Big Tech has dumped an impossible responsibility."
..... During her reelection campaign in 2024, she noted hat she was concerned about TikTok and the way the algorithms of social media showed extremist content to kids.
..... "That's incredibly worrying to me, and I think we've seen some antisemitism, some Isamophobia," she said. "I'd like to work hard to address that and then more broadly how we better protect our kids Online."