New Jersey Kids Code (A4015/S3413)
United States- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- Became Law
New Jersey's design code is law, setting children's accounts to the strictest privacy settings by default and switching off the features built to keep them scrolling.
Latest update
Signed by Governor Sherrill
Current position
Signed August 11, 2026
What it does
Signed on August 11, 2026, the Act codifies an age-appropriate design code for New Jersey. Online services must set the highest privacy settings for a child's account by default, limit what data they collect from children, and restrain features built to maximise engagement. Children and parents get control over algorithmic recommendations, and the Act adds safeguards around contact between adults and minors. Two companion bills were signed the same day, one funding a Social Media Research Center at a state university and one directing it to study whether warning labels work.
Why it matters
New Jersey is the third state to put a Kids Code on the books after California and Maryland, and California's version has spent years tied up in court on First Amendment grounds. Regulating design avoids the bluntness of a ban, which is exactly why it spreads more easily. Working out which accounts belong to children is still the load-bearing part, and the Act leaves that to the platforms.
Our take
A design code sounds gentler than a ban because nobody is turned away at the door. The catch is the same one every time, which is that a platform cannot apply children's defaults without first deciding who is a child, and that decision gets made about every account on the service.
Timeline
Signed by Governor Sherrill
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