New Jersey lawmakers aim to shield kids from adult websites

TRENTON, N.J. (PIX11) -- It was a day that marked the beginning of an addiction that would have a profound impact on Cole Allen Johnson's life.

"I was first exposed to pornography when I was 12 years old," said Johnson while testifying at the State House on July 29. "It wasn't just socially what it did to me. It's also what it drove me to. Drug addiction, alcohol abuse, things like this."

On Monday in Trenton, he opened up about his story during a hearing in front of New Jersey lawmakers, advocating to protect kids from pornographic websites and the devastating effects they can have on them.

"This is the most important issue they can focus on," Johnson said in a Zoom interview on July 30. "There's no issue that concerns the most vulnerable people in such massive numbers and is wreaking such havoc on them - not even social media, which is something everybody likes to talk about."

"It was an emotional hearing," said Republican Assemblyman Jay Webber, who led Monday's hearing.