New Jersey Kids Code Act
New Jersey, United StatesHigh threat- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- Became Law
Stage 4 of 4: Became Law
New Jersey's version of California's design code sets strict defaults for users a platform knows are minors, and its broad definition of knowing gives platforms a reason to check ages.
Latest update
Signed by Governor Sherrill
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Take action on this issueWhat it does
Signed August 11, 2026, as P.L.2026 c.73, after the Legislature passed it June 30. The Kids Code Act (A4015/S3413) writes an age-appropriate design code into New Jersey law. For users a platform has actual knowledge are minors, it must limit the data it collects, default them to the highest privacy settings, restrict features built to keep them scrolling, put safeguards on contact between minors and adults, and give children and parents control over algorithmic recommendations. Governor Sherrill signed it inside a three-bill package that also set up a Social Media Research Center (A4014/S3411) and directed that center to study warning labels (S3412/A4013).
What’s at stake
The act applies only to users a platform has actual knowledge are minors, and section 8a says a platform "is not required to collect the personal data of a user to comply." Its definition of knowledge is wide, covering inferences, age flags and any age a platform assigns for advertising, so a platform worried about liability has reason to run age checks on its own even though the law does not require them. The matching laws in California and Maryland are already tied up in court on free speech grounds, and New Jersey's version invites the same fight.
Our take
New Jersey stopped short of ordering age checks, and the text says so. Its definition of knowledge still counts every inference and ad-targeting guess a platform makes about your age, which turns routine profiling into legal exposure and makes checking ages the safe choice for a platform's lawyers. Watch the courts: NetChoice has design codes blocked or challenged in California and Maryland, and New Jersey stepped onto the same ground.
Timeline
Kids Code Act takes effectUpcoming
Signed by Governor SherrillLatest
Passed the New Jersey Legislature
Sponsors
Assemblywoman Andrea Katz, Assemblywoman Marisa Sweeney, Assemblywoman Luanne Peterpaul, Sen. Raj Mukherji, Sen. Linda Greenstein
Votes
- Assembly — Final passage (73 to 5) · June 30, 2026
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