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Design It For Us, which describes itself as a coalition of young people taking on Big Tech, issued a statement condemning Meta for “profiting off of our safety and well-being by purposefully designing products that keep us addicted.” This, according to youth leader Thanasi Dilos, is a major contributor to the mental health epidemic among young people. They similarly condemned the social media giant for funding NetChoice rather than collaborating with advocates on legislation and guidelines.

Young people should share their perspectives with policymakers, as well, said Zamaan Qureshi, co-chair of youth advocacy organization Design It For Us.

“I’m here to speak on behalf of my generation for the harm we’ve experienced,” Zamaan Qureshi, co-chair of the advocacy organization Design It For Us, told lawmakers Tuesday. “Some of our generation have developed depression, eating disorders and attempted or taken their life due to social media.”

Among the panelists are Matthew Bergman, Founding Attorney of Social Media Victims Law Center, Zamaan Qureshi, Co-Chair of Design it for Us, Camille Carlton, Senior Policy & Communications Manager for Center for Humane Technology and Robert Weil, Director of Research, Policy, and Field Services, Educational Issues for American Federation of Teachers. 

Qureshi and a coalition of students formed Design It For Us, an advocacy group intended to bring the perspectives of young people to the forefront of the debate about online safety. They are part of a growing constellation of youth advocacy and activist organizations demanding a say as officials consider new rules to govern kids’ activity online.

Bivens-Hernandez along with ParentsTogether, the American Federation of Teachers, the American Psychological Association, Fairplay and Design It For Us are calling on social media companies to take action.

Emma Lembke says it was a major surprise that her tech reform work earned a phone call from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

“I had one of the craziest surprise calls of my life with the Duke and Duchess,” Lembke said creator of Design It for Us. “Harry and Meghan called me to say that I was a grant recipient of the Responsible Youth Tech Fund, that is awarding over $2 million to youth groups who are seeking to better understand for a greater tech future.” 

The snippet showed Prince Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, connecting with Tazin Khan Norelius of Cyber Collective, Trisha Prabhu of ReThink Citizens, Emma Lembke of Design It For Us and Log Off, Sam Hiner of the Young People’s Alliance Education Fund and Sneha Revanur of Encode Justice. They thanked the young leaders for driving change that will benefit the next generation — including their son Archie, 4, and daughter Lilibet, 2.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have surprised young leaders in the tech world with congratulatory phone calls. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle personally called several recipients of the first-ever Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund grants, in a video released on Wednesday 2 August.

“It was a complete surprise. I had no idea I would be speaking with them,” Emma Lembke, the cochair of internet safety advocacy organization Design It For Us, told Vanity Fair. “The duke and the duchess, and all of their work, have been pivotal in moving so many social issues forward and bringing visibility to a lot of important areas, and specifically responsible tech.”