NJBIA is seeking amendments to legislation designed to protect kids using social media.
A three-bill package sponsored by Assemblywoman Andrea Katz (D-8) advanced in the Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee this week.
NJBIA is seeking business-related changes to two of the bills.
“These are well-intended bills that we just want to make sure don’t cause unintended consequences for businesses or organizations outside of the social media industry,” said NJBIA Policy Research Analyst Jack Ramirez, who testified in opposition to the bills.
Bill A-4013 requires certain social media platforms to take certain actions concerning user mental health.
Specifically, they would need to display a black box warning, similar to those displayed on cigarette boxes, when users log in.
Platforms would also include a disclaimer about the risks of negative mental health impacts of using social media.
NJBIA is seeking an internet service provider exclusion from the bill that would discount telecommunication and broadband services and other non-social media organizations from falling into the definition.
Bill A-4015, known as the New Jersey Kids Code Act, would require service providers to protect personal information of minors.
The bill also amends some provisions of current law concerning data privacy, including alterations to how “personal data” and “sensitive data” are defined.
NJBIA is seeking amendments on the definition of online service to:
- Include a website or application that has account holders in this State, and which service, product, or feature or application;
- Allow account holders to construct a public or semi-public profile for the purposes of using the platform, populate a public list of other account holders with whom the account holder shares a social connection through the platform, and post content viewable by other account holders or users of the platform;
- Be designed to connect account holders within the platform to facilitate social interactions, except that a service, product, or feature or application that provides email or direct messaging services shall not be considered to meet this criterion solely based on the existence of that functionality.
NJBIA is also seeking an amended definition of “covered online service providers: to reflect the following:
- A sole proprietorship, a limited liability company, a corporation, an association, or any other legal entity that:
- (1) owns, operates, controls, or provides an online service;
- (2) conducts business in this State;
- (3) generates a majority of its annual revenue from online services;
- (4) alone, or jointly with its affiliates, subsidiaries, or parent companies, determines the purposes and means of the processing of consumers’ personal data; and
- (5) has gross revenue in excess of $25 million.
