Women, Children, & Families
Gov. Sherrill Signs New Legislation to Protect Children Online – On August 11th, Governor Mikie Sherrill signed three bills that aim to advance research on the effects of social media on childhood development, strengthen online safety measures for minors, and explore warning labels for online content marketed at children. Bill A4015/S3413 requires online service providers to automatically configure child accounts to the highest privacy protection settings and prohibits app notifications between 10pm and 6am on school nights and 8am and 4pm on school days. Bill A4014/S3411 utilizes $500,000 appropriated in FY 2027 budget to establish a Social Media Research Center at a public 4-year university in New Jersey and Bill S3412/A4013 directs the Center to prepare a report on the effectiveness of social media warning labels and disclaimers on reducing addictiveness of platforms. Recent international attempts to regulate social media in Australia, France, and Canada have faced legal setbacks and implementation challenges.
Public Administration
NJ AG Files Lawsuits Against Trump Administration Request of CDL Drivers’ License Data – On August 13th, Attorney General Jennifer Davenport filed a lawsuit challenging Trump Administration demands for access to the personal data of 17 million commercial drivers registered in the national American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) database. The AAMVA maintains a database of Commercial Drivers’ Licenses that allows states to securely and efficiently share licensing information for commercial drivers frequently crossing state lines. The Trump Administration has threatened to withhold $10 million of funding to AAMVA if the database is not released to the federal government. New Jersey and a coalition of 20 other states and DC allege that the administration is seeking to share sensitive personal data across federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, in violation of multiple federal privacy laws.
NJ Supreme Court Rules on Privacy Provisions of Daniel’s Law – On August 12th, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided the case Atlas Data Privacy Corp. v. We Inform LLC in favor of data firms challenging a provision of Daniel’s Law, unanimously ruling that violators of the law must have acted in “willful or reckless disregard of the law” to require compensation for damages. Daniel’s Law requires online databases to remove personal data of law enforcement personnel and judges within 10 days of a request for removal or face financial penalties. The court ruled that the legislature was deliberate in including language defining intent and that failure to remove personal information within 10 days is not “willful or reckless disregard of the law” and companies cannot be sued for negligence.
Bipartisan Federal Legislation Introduced to Address Threats to Public Utilities – On August 12th, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) introduced two bills aimed at addressing the recent rise in cyberattacks targeting water systems in New Jersey and across the country. The bipartisan legislation looks to equip local water systems with access to AI models to strengthen cybersecurity and build rapid response networks to address threats. Water and sewer departments for the City of Cape May and the Borough of Woodbine faced cybersecurity breaches in late July, though water quality remained safe as operators switched to manual control systems. Investigators say they identify Iran as a potential perpetrator of these attacks and raise concern over increasing cybersecurity risks to critical infrastructure.