EPIC Applauds Passage of the New Jersey Kids Code Act

Today, the New Jersey legislature passed the New Jersey Kids Code Act, which prohibits online companies from engaging in data and design practices that harm minors online. The bill now advances to the desk of Gov. Mikie Sherrill. 

EPIC applauds lawmakers’ passage of this crucial piece of legislation, which features several provisions from the model Age-Appropriate Design Code that EPIC released earlier this year. EPIC is proud to have collaborated with the Kids Code Coalition and New Jersey lawmakers on this important legislation and to have testified twice in support of the effort.

“Big Tech companies have long designed their products to harvest kids’ data and attention for profit while ignoring the harm this causes kids,” said Megan Iorio, EPIC Senior Counsel and Director of the Platform Governance & Accountability Program. “The New Jersey Kids Code Act requires online companies to put kids’ interests before profits and to protect kids’ privacy and safety by design.”

The NJ Kids Code Act protects kids online by prohibiting invasive data practices, giving minors control over their online experiences, and preventing companies from designing their products to promote compulsive use.

Key features of the NJ Kids Code Act include:

• Strong data minimization and use limits, ensuring companies do not collect, use, or disclose more information than necessary to provide kids with the products they are engaged with. 
• A requirement for companies to configure minors’ default privacy settings to the highest level of privacy.
• A requirement for companies to provide minors with the ability to limit unwanted adult contact and control other aspects of their online experiences.
• A prohibition on companies using surveillance data to drive kids’ engagement in algorithmic feeds and a requirement that companies instead give kids control over their feeds. 
• A limitation on push notifications that lure kids back to online products, particularly at night and during school hours.
• A duty of care requiring companies to take all reasonable steps to ensure that their products do not result in compulsive use in minors.
• No affirmative requirement to determine any user’s age and strong privacy protections for any personal data that companies might voluntarily collect for age assurance.
• A strong private right of action that will allow New Jersey residents to enforce their rights in court.

New Jersey now joins the growing ranks of states that have committed to protecting minors online by regulating the design of online products, including Vermont, Illinois, California, Nebraska, and South Carolina. We look forward to working with legislators in other states who are considering such legislation.