Young People Demand Control: Design It For Us Endorses SAFE for All Act
Youth-led coalition endorses New York bill (S.4506) that would give users real power over their feeds
Design It For Us Organizing Director Matthew Stevens released the following statement:
“Today, Design It For Us proudly announces its endorsement of the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for All Act, landmark legislation introduced by Senator Andrew Gounardes and Assembly Member Alex Bores to give New Yorkers control over their digital experiences rather than opaque and toxic algorithms.
These digital worlds have become infrastructure in much the same way that the internet itself has, but we are not resigned to being powerless to the harm they cause us. All users deserve the ability to control their exposure to the platforms’ potentially harmful features.
The SAFE for All Act is aligned with key principles of our Declaration of Digital Rights that will enable us to reclaim our feeds, such as the right to user controls and the right to agency. The harms of exploitative design don’t disappear the day you turn 18—this bill acknowledges that and takes critical steps to protect all users. We look forward to working with the state of New York to help this bill become law.”
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The SAFE for All Act builds on New York’s groundbreaking 2024 SAFE for Kids Act and would expand protections to users of all ages by:
- Requiring platforms to offer the ability to turn off personalized algorithms
- Allowing users to disable autoplay and push notifications
- Giving users the right to set their own screen time limits
- Prohibiting manipulative “dark patterns” that obscure or prevent access to settings