Technology (Online Safety)

This bill establishes the North Carolina Children's Safe Screens Act to protect minors under 18 from online harms by regulating large internet platforms. It creates a new Online Safety Division within the Department of Justice to enforce rules that ban deceptive design tactics, require parental notification for child accounts, and mandate strict privacy settings by default. Covered platforms, defined as those with over five million users in the state and $25 million in annual revenue, must submit annual impact assessments and provide tools for parents to manage screen time and content. The legislation empowers the Attorney General to file civil lawsuits against non-compliant companies, with potential fines of up to $500,000 per violation, while funding enforcement through a dedicated state fund.

SB 722 creates the Online Safety Division within North Carolina’s Department of Justice, the Cyberbullying Unit at the State Bureau of Investigation, and an Online Child Safety Commission. It directly affects major digital platforms with over 5 million users in North Carolina and $25 million in annual revenue, requiring them to implement parental notification systems, disable manipulative design features ("dark patterns"), and provide robust privacy tools for children. Platforms must submit annual Child Impact Assessments detailing risks to minors, limit data collection for children, prohibit targeted advertising, and default to strict privacy settings. The law authorizes civil penalties of up to $500,000 per violation for noncompliance, with funding of $5 million for 2025-2026 allocated to establish these new state units.

HB 301, titled "Social Media Protections for Minors Under 16," aims to regulate social media platforms for minors in North Carolina. The bill prohibits social media platforms from allowing children under 14 years of age to create accounts and requires them to terminate existing accounts for this age group, deleting their personal data. For minors aged 14 or 15, platforms must obtain parental or guardian consent before they can create or maintain an account. The North Carolina Department of Justice is responsible for enforcing these provisions, which allows for civil penalties and damages for violations, including potential lawsuits by affected minors.

HB 959 requires North Carolina public schools to adopt internet safety policies by January 2026, limiting student access to age-appropriate content and blocking social media except for teacher-directed educational use. It mandates annual social media literacy instruction in all grades, covering mental health impacts, misinformation, online safety, and identifying cyberbullying. The bill also establishes rules for wireless device use during class, prohibiting personal device use except for educational purposes, medical needs, or special education plans. These provisions directly affect all K-12 public schools and students across North Carolina, with policies to be implemented starting in the 2026-2027 school year.