Establishes Social Media Research Center at four-year public institution of higher education.

The original bill required the Legislature to annually appropriate funds for the center. The SCS removes this mandate and instead makes the center's establishment 'subject to appropriation,' meaning it will not exist unless the budget actually provides money.

The grant program language was narrowed. The SCS specifies that only 'State-appropriated research funds' are subject to the competitive peer review process, and removes the requirement that the process be modeled on NIH and that all qualified investigators have equal access regardless of institutional affiliation.

Data sharing requirements were substantially strengthened. The SCS adds a 'to the extent practicable and feasible' qualifier, requires all data transmission to protect individual privacy and comply with federal and State law, and mandates that the center review and approve data use agreements or business associate agreements in compliance with HIPAA (45 C.F.R. 160.101 to 164.534).

Online courses and training modules on safe social media use are now required to be made available 'at no charge' to schools in the State (previously just 'available to public schools').

The obligation to share research publications was narrowed. The SCS limits this to publications 'that were supported by those grants' rather than all research publications from the center and grant recipients.

The reporting requirement changed from every five years to annually. The report must now also include information on research requests received from State departments and agencies, and must be made publicly available.

The selection of the host institution now requires coordination between the Secretary of Higher Education and the Office of Youth Online Mental Health Safety and Awareness in the Department of Health, with explicit criteria of institutional capacity, interest, and existing expertise. The host institution must also provide administrative support including oversight by its existing research review procedures.

A new research activity was added requiring the center to conduct research and make recommendations on addictive social media behaviors affecting children and minors, and on the extent to which warning labels and other disclaimers reduce such behaviors.

The entire legislative findings section (citing the 2023 Surgeon General advisory, statistics on youth social media use, and the rationale for the center) was removed from the bill text.

Two research activities were removed: researching age-appropriate screen times and content, and conducting public awareness campaigns to promote responsible social media use and media literacy.