A national debate over how to protect teens from big tech is taking center stage in Trenton, where lawmakers this week moved a bill that will put restrictions on teens social media use by requiring parents permission to sign up for social media accounts.

If the proposal becomes law, New Jersey would join a small list of states with similar requirements.

But as Ted Goldberg reports, the bill faces serious challenges.

When it comes to young people using social media.

Assemblyman Herb Conaway says there are tons of issues.

The situation is a crisis level.

The federal government has been feckless in addressing this problem and often occurs is for the states to take action.

A bill sponsored by Conaway would require social media companies to prove parents gave the okay for minors to sign up for social media sites.

The bill would also ban, quote, direct messaging between the account and any other adult user that is not linked to the account through adding on the social media platform.

As people age, they certainly should have access to more and more information.

But a 13 year old, I don't think so.

I think a lot of parents ought to be in a position to make that judgment for them, for their families.

Social media companies would be on the hook for using third party apps to verify ages, similar to how mortgage companies use government issued IDs to do that.

There are platforms out there that will very accurately identify who you are if you're trying to seek federal or other benefits.

All of those steps are unnecessarily infringing on the right to free speech.

And that's the primary purpose of social media, right, to be able to go out there and express yourself.

The ACLU is concerned that this bill would interfere with free speech and policy.

Counsel Joe Johnson wonders how to handle online harassment without stomping on First Amendment rights.

I think that that's the million dollar question, right?

That's what everybody is searching for.

And I don't think that there is an easy answer.

Kids are used to people having not ten responses to something, but a hundred a thousand or more.

According to the latest data from Pew Research, one third of teens say they use some kind of social media nearly all the time.

Conaway says there needs to be a response to that.

And parents need more power to monitor and control teen use.

There's not a technology in the world that doesn't bring the downsides as well, that doesn't have negative externalities, as the economists tell us, And we need to address those.

ABS brakes on your car or whether it's inspections to make sure that car is safe to operate on the highway.

It's impossible able to imagine why we shouldn't be holding this new technology to those same levels of public safety standards.

It's shameful that this kind of law is needed.

Stuart Green is on the state's anti-bullying task force, and he says the problem lies mostly with social media companies exploiting young people.

Completely irresponsible in the way they conduct themselves in terms of engaging minors, addicting minors to the use of it in very calculated ways.

Green says it's good to see more regulations aimed at these companies, but he's worried about what might happen to people who really need social media, like people in marginalized communities.

These use social media sites.

Other means are an important way for them to reach out to others in that community and obtain support.

So there is that valid concern.

Youth often don't have that voice to be able to go out on their sidewalk, to be able to go into into the school and say, This is how I feel, because oftentimes they don't have the voice.

So being able to go on the social media platforms is very important.

To be able to find companionship.

Conway's bill moved out of committee earlier this week, and he says he expects the Senate to take up the bill later this week.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Ted Goldberg.