ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 4664

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  DECEMBER 16, 2024

      The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 4664.

      As amended and reported, this bill prohibits social media platforms from using a design, algorithm, practice, affordance, or feature that the platform knows, or which by the exercise of reasonable care should have known, could cause child users to develop an eating disorder, including, but not limited to, promoting diet products.

     A social media platform would not be found to violate the provisions of this bill if the social media platform: (1) demonstrates that the platform instituted and maintained an internal quarterly audit program in which the platform audits its practices, algorithms, designs, features, and affordances to determine whether these practices, algorithms, designs, features, or affordances cause, have the potential to cause, or contribute to the development of eating disorders in child users on the platform; (2) hires an independent third party to conduct an annual audit of its practices, algorithms, designs, features, or affordances to determine whether these practices, algorithms, designs, features, or affordances cause, have the potential to cause, or contribute to the development of eating disorders in child users on the platform; and within 30 calendar days of the completion of the audit and upon the social media platform’s receipt of notification of the issue, the social media platform takes action to correct any practice, algorithm, design, feature, or affordance if an audit determines that the practice, algorithm, design, feature, or affordance used by the platform causes, has the potential to cause, or contributes to the development of eating disorders in child users; or (3) is controlled by a business entity that generated less than $100 million in gross revenue during the preceding calendar year.

     Under the bill, a social media platform would not be liable for content that: (1) is generated, uploaded, or shared on the social media platform by a user of the platform, unless the content is paid for, including through advertisement sales, by the social media platform; (2) is created solely by a third party and passively displayed by the social media platform; (3) the social media platform was not, in whole or in part, responsible for creating or developing; or (4) involves child users that would otherwise be protected by 47 U.S.C. s.230, the United States Constitution or the State Constitution.

     This bill defines “eating disorder” as a behavioral condition characterized by a severe and persistent disturbance in eating behaviors and associated distressing thoughts and emotions, including but not limited to, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and avoidant restrictive food intake disorder.

     A social media platform that violates the provisions of the bill would be liable for a civil penalty, not to exceed $250,000 per violation.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

The committee amended this bill to:

      (1) change the definition of “social media platform,” which, among other changes, specifies that certain services or applications that consist primarily of news, sports, entertainment, ecommerce, or content that is preselected by the provider do not meet certain criteria of the definition of “social media platform” under the bill on the basis of certain functions alone;

      (2) require a social media platform to include its algorithms in the audits required under the bill; and

      (3) remove an exception to the provisions of this bill for a social media platform that’s primary function is to enable users to play video games.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      This bill is not certified as requiring a fiscal note.