Press Archives - Design It For Us

Design It For Us Applauds Illinois General Assembly for Passing Children’s Online Social Media Safety Act

Illinois’s HB 5511 builds on social media safety bills in California, New York, and Vermont

Design It For Us Director of Campaigns and Policy Zamaan Qureshi released the following statement:

“We applaud Illinois lawmakers for standing up for Illinois’ young people by unanimously passing the Children’s Online Social Media Safety Act. For years, young people in Illinois have demanded protection from the harms of social media, and this victory is a testament to our refusal to accept the status quo. Once enacted, the Children’s Online Social Media Safety Act will require platforms to prioritize young people’s well-being over engagement, ensuring the strongest default protections for minors. Those protections are strengthened by privacy-preserving age assurance, carefully crafted to ensure age-appropriate experiences on social media without undermining privacy or agency.

Big Tech pulled out all its usual tricks: pushing for carve-outs for specific platforms, attempting to narrow the bill’s reach, and working to stall the legislative process. But those tactics were no match for the vocal demand from Illinoisans to act, and we’re grateful to Illinois lawmakers for heeding that call.

We’re proud to have worked alongside Illinois’ leaders, including Governor Pritzker and the bill sponsors, Representative Gong-Gershowitz and Senator Preston, to build upon successful frameworks we led in other states and ensure the Illinois General Assembly advanced the strongest possible provisions. This bill marks a turning point for young Illinoisans on social media, and we will keep pushing until every young person in this country has the same protections.”

Background:

Design It For Us testified in support of age-appropriate design language in the Illinois General Assembly.
Design It For Us’ Zamaan Qureshi spoke to FOX32, voicing support for the bill and strengthening the provisions.
Design It For Us has organized in Illinois for more than three years, calling upon legislators to enact strong social media and AI legislation. Design It For Us has also supported the Age-Appropriate Design Code, and recently helped to secure the passage of SB 315.

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About Design It For Us

Design It For Us is a youth-led coalition leveraging grassroots power to disrupt Big Tech’s harmful business models. The coalition is led by a team of people between the ages of 18 and 26 and supported by an array of youth-led organizations, staff, and advisors fighting for a better online world for everyone.

Design It For Us Applauds Illinois General Assembly for Passing Strongest AI Safety Law in the Country

Illinois’s SB 315 builds on California’s SB 53 and New York’s RAISE Act with third-party audits.

Design It For Us Director of Campaigns and Policy Zamaan Qureshi released the following statement:

“We applaud Illinois lawmakers for standing for Illinois’s young people and enacting the strongest AI safety law in the country. This bill makes substantive progress towards much-needed transparency and accountability, strengthened by third-party audits, and builds on existing standards set by California and New York. This bill is common-sense; it requires that the largest developers operating at the frontier of AI technology develop catastrophic risk mitigation measures, publish safety plans, report serious incidents to the Attorney General and Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security, and let independent auditors check their work.

“We’re grateful for the leadership of Rep. Didech, Sen. Edly-Allen, and the rest of the bill’s sponsors, who delivered for Illinoisans and enabled the state to lead the way in the United States when it comes to holding Big Tech to account. We’re proud of the work that our advocates and partners led to help get this bill through the legislature, and we thank Governor Pritzker for his robust support of this critical legislation.”

Background:

Design It For Us member Kashyap Rajesh authored an op-ed in the Chicago Sun-Times supporting the bill and encouraging lawmakers to sign it into law.
Design It For Us testified in support of the bill in the Illinois General Assembly.
Design It For Us’ Zamaan Qureshi spoke to Fox32, voicing support for the bill.
Design It For Us advocated for and supported SB53 and the RAISE Act.

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About Design It For Us
Design It For Us is a youth-led coalition leveraging grassroots power to disrupt Big Tech’s harmful business models. The coalition is led by a team of people between the ages of 18 and 26 and supported by an array of youth-led organizations, staff, and advisors fighting for a better online world for everyone.

Design It For Us Statement On California Social Media Trial Verdict

Design It For Us co-chair Nikki Iyer released the following statement:

“Today, the jury listened to young people. Design It For Us applauds today’s jury verdict in K.G.M. v. Meta et al., a decision that affirms the truth of young people’s lived experiences online. This verdict is a major milestone for every young person and family whose pain has been minimized by Big Tech. Today’s decision ends an era of plausible deniability: Meta and YouTube knew their products were harming us, and now so does every legislature, parent, and young person in America.

This decision, like the decision in New Mexico, makes clear that the public sees Big Tech’s platforms for what they are: harmful by design, negligent in practice, and built without regard for the young people they harm—and the public is willing to hold Big Tech accountable. This public acknowledgement and decision are a major turning point, especially as litigation against Big Tech progresses across America, at scale.

We are deeply grateful to K.G.M. for her perseverance in speaking out and carrying this case forward. Because of her courage, Big Tech can no longer expect to evade accountability.

Exploitation is not our birthright. We are all K.G.M.”

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Meta’s Newest Teen Accounts Features Leave Parents and Teens to Fend For Ourselves

Teen Accounts updates build upon broken safety standards, forcing parents and teens to shoulder the full burden of Meta’s harmful product despite public claims of safety and privacy

Design It For Us co-chair Sebastian Mahal released the following statement:

“It is simply not enough to put the onus on parents or young people to make social media safe. In fact, recent unsealed court filings show that only 0.38% of Instagram’s Teen Accounts have actually enabled parental supervision. If Meta’s parental tools are scarcely applied, this latest update from Meta is futile. Real support for young people and parents alike comes from laws requiring safety-by-design and privacy-by-default, policies that Meta has fought against in Congress and in court for years.

“And it’s hard to overlook the timing; as Meta’s leaders stand for trial in Los Angeles, the company is rolling out another headline-friendly “safety” announcement that reads more like reputation management than a meaningful change to their underlying business model.

“This “update” demonstrates that Instagram knows its products endanger kids and enable the mass proliferation of harmful content, yet they continue to pass the responsibility off on parents and users to keep us safe. In reality, most teens will never see this “support,” but we’re the ones who will pay the price.”

Design It For Us has led countless efforts to demand accountability from companies like Meta:

In April 2025, Design It For Us joined Parents Together and the Heat Initiative to host a rally at Meta’s headquarters in New York City. We delivered a petition of more than 10,000 signatures of young people and parents demanding meaningful accountability from Meta and Mark Zuckerberg.
Design It For Us partnered with Accountable Tech in May 2025 to release a test of the efficacy of Meta’s Teen Accounts’ protections. In the test, youth volunteers from the coalition created test accounts and recorded their experiences using Teen Accounts over the course of two weeks. Our test accounts found that Meta’s policies did not always work, including the fact that 5 out of 5 of our test Teen Accounts were algorithmically recommended sensitive content, despite Meta’s default sensitive content controls being enabled.
On the 1-year anniversary of the rollout of Teen Accounts in September 2025, DIFU advocate Alia ElKattan stood alongside Meta whistleblowers and parents in a press conference to call out Meta’s persistent refusal to be transparent and accountable to its users.

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Design It For Us Names New Co-Chairs to Power the Expansion of Youth-Led Tech Reform

Sebastian Mahal and Nikki Iyer take on Co-Chair roles to advance youth power and human-centered tech reform

Design It For Us, a youth-led coalition leveraging grassroots power to disrupt Big Tech’s harmful business models, today announced Sebastian Mahal and Nikki Iyer as its new Co-Chairs. Their leadership represents significant growth for the organization as it continues to expand its reach and build lasting youth power to upend the status quo of Big Tech and fight for a better online world.

Sebastian Mahal is a youth organizer, advocate, and coalition builder working at the intersection of social media harms, emerging technology, and youth political power. Their organizing background spans movements for queer and trans safety, reproductive justice, gun violence prevention, and climate advocacy. As Co-Chair, Sebastian is focused on how these same systemic harms are reproduced on insufficiently regulated online platforms, turning widespread youth frustration with digital platforms into coordinated action for change. Sebastian holds degrees in political science and philosophy, with a specialization in digital ethics.

“Too often, young people are treated as passive test subjects of technology rather than stakeholders with real power,” said Mahal. “Design It For Us aims to change that and make sure the voices of young people most impacted by harmful tech are leading the fight for accountability, safety, and dignity online.”

Nikki Iyer is a third-year student at the University of California, Berkeley. As Co-Chair of Design It For Us, Nikki works to galvanize youth power by fostering greater balance, agency, and well-being among young people navigating an increasingly digital world. At Berkeley, Nikki organizes speaker series events that bring conversations about technology, culture, and politics to campus. Through her academics, Nikki studies how rhetoric around AI and social media influences our understanding of ourselves, our relationships, and the boundary between online and real life.

“The digital age is shaping how we think, feel, and connect—and not always for the better,” said Iyer. “Young people deserve technology that supports our humanity rather than exploits our attention. I’m excited to represent Design It For Us as we push for systems that reflect those values.”

The announcement comes during a period of significant growth for Design It For Us, as the nonprofit has expanded its coalition, built up state leadership, and increased its influence at both the state and national levels. As part of this growth, founding Co-Chair Zamaan Qureshi will transition into a newly created leadership role as Director of Campaigns and Policy, where he will lead strategic advocacy efforts and spearhead the next wave of wins in all corners of the country.

With Mahal and Iyer as Co-Chairs, Design It For Us is doubling down on its commitment to youth-led leadership, intersectional advocacy, and bold solutions that challenge Big Tech’s dominance while centering human well-being.

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Design It For Us Applauds Governor Hochul for Signing the RAISE Act

Landmark law requires safety protocols and incident reporting from the most powerful AI companies.

Design It For Us Co-Chair Zamaan Qureshi released the following statement:

“We are thrilled that Governor Hochul has chosen to stand up for New York’s young people and residents by signing the RAISE Act into law. This is a critical step to protect young people and the public as powerful AI products rapidly change our lives.

“Despite Big Tech’s intense lobbying campaign, New Yorkers made their voices heard, and we applaud Governor Hochul for heading those calls. For too long, policymakers have been forced to respond to harm after it occurs. The RAISE Act changes that by establishing basic transparency and accountability for companies building the most powerful AI models, including the requirement of safety protocols, incident reporting, and enforceable oversight before damage is done. This is the first step to learning from a decade of missed warning signs with social media.

“New York goes further than California, becoming the second state in the nation to take action on this issue and the first to enact the strongest AI safety legislation in the country. New York is once again showing that states can lead where Congress has failed to act. This law sends a clear message that innovation does not have to come at the expense of safety, transparency, or young people’s futures.

“This victory was made possible by a broad coalition of youth advocates, parents, survivors, and public-interest organizations who have been sounding the alarm and pushing for real safeguards. Young people helped drive this momentum, and today, their voices were heard. We are grateful to Senator Gounardes and Assemblymember Bores for their leadership on this critical bill, and we look forward to continuing the fight for strong AI protections nationwide. ”

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Background:

Design It For Us co-led a rally and lobby day with Encode AI in June in support of the RAISE Act, which helped ensure the bill advanced out of a key committee and got a final vote. Our advocates spoke at a press conference alongside the bill leaders of the RAISE Act.
Design It For Us co-led an organizational sign-on letter with Encode AI from over 20 prominent youth online safety organizations, urging Governor Hochul to sign the RAISE Act into law.
Design It For Us Program Lead Matthew Stevens co-authored an op-ed alongside Young People’s Alliance Columbia Chapter Leader Kate Francke in the Buffalo News, urging Governor Hochul to sign the RAISE Act into law.
Design It For Us directed hundreds of emails from New Yorkers to Governor Hochul, urging her to sign the RAISE Act into law.

About Design It For Us

Design It For Us is a youth-led coalition of young people, activists, and leaders that aims to achieve policy reforms to protect kids, teens, and young adults online. The coalition is led by two Co-Chairs and a team of Program Leads between the ages of 18 and 26. The coalition is also supported by an array of youth-led organizations, staff, and advisors.

Statement on President Trump’s Executive Order Preempting State A.I. Laws

Design It For Us stands with states fighting to protect A.I. safety and accountability

Design It For Us Co-Chair Zamaan Qureshi released the following statement:

“President Trump’s executive order attempting to wipe out state A.I. laws is a dangerous overreach that threatens public safety and undermines states’ rights. No president can unilaterally preempt state law — full stop. Congress has already considered and rejected this exact approach — twice. Nothing in today’s action changes that reality.

“This executive order isn’t about better policy. It’s about the administration, pushed by David Sacks and other tech industry giants, trying to secure through executive fiat what they have failed to win in Congress. Young people, parents, and consumer advocates mobilized by the thousands to defeat federal A.I. preemption because eliminating state laws would leave the public with effectively no protections. This order is an effort to blatantly sidestep that critical democratic process, regardless of the attempts it makes to carve out specific protections such as children’s safety.

“States have stepped up while the federal government has stagnated, passing bipartisan laws that require basic A.I. safety, strengthen privacy, and combat deepfakes. Today’s executive order seeks to dismantle those safeguards. We strongly support the state Attorneys General who are preparing to challenge this order in court. Design It For Us stands with every state leader pushing back against this power grab. Young people want more accountability for A.I., not a federally imposed vacuum that hands tech companies a free pass.”

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About Design It For Us

Coalition of Youth Advocates and Safety Organizations Urges Governor Hochul to Sign the RAISE Act, Following California’s Lead

As AI becomes ubiquitous, the public cannot afford another decade of secrecy, unreported harm, and unaccountable tech giants.

A coalition of leading youth advocates, public-interest groups, and technology accountability organizations released a joint letter urging Governor Kathy Hochul to sign New York’s Responsible AI Safety and Education (RAISE) Act into law. The letter was organized by Design It For Us and Encode AI and joined by more than twenty organizations, including Common Sense Media, Common Cause, ParentsTogether Action, Rights4Girls, SAVE, #HalfTheStory, and the Sexual Violence Prevention Association.

New York is facing a pivotal moment. “Fifteen years ago, policymakers missed the warning signs with social media, and an entire generation is still paying the price,” the organizations write. “As AI becomes embedded into the services young people use, we have a narrow window to put real safeguards in place.”

The RAISE Act establishes basic transparency and safety requirements for the largest AI developers, including publishing safety and security protocols, reporting serious safety incidents to the Attorney General, and enabling enforcement through existing state authorities. The bill closely follows—and in key ways strengthens—the landmark AI safety framework California signed into law earlier this year.

The RAISE Act would introduce three core transparency requirements for the companies spending hundreds of millions of dollars to train foundation models:

Publishing and following safety and security protocols that address catastrophic risks such as biological weapon development or automated criminal activity;
Reporting serious safety incidents to the Attorney General so policymakers and the public are not kept in the dark;
Enabling enforcement through the Attorney General without creating a new state agency.

“California showed that states can lead on AI safety,” said Zamaan Qureshi, Co-Chair of Design It For Us. “Now New York can go even further by requiring real transparency from the companies building the most powerful AI systems. Young people deserve a future where AI safety isn’t an afterthought.”

“After a decade of Congressional inaction on social media, Governor Hochul led the way in protecting young people online with legislation like the SAFE4KIDS Act,” said Adam Billen, VP of Public Policy at Encode AI. “Now, with the RAISE Act, she has the chance to get ahead of serious risks from AI instead of waiting until they’re already here.”

The full letter and list of signatories are included here.

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Design It For Us Responds to New House COPPA 2.0 Language: “This Bill Fails Young People.”

House Energy & Commerce Committee’s language of COPPA 2.0 (introduced as H.R. 6291) contains disastrous, vague preemption, and a weakened knowledge standard.

Design It For Us Co-Chair Zamaan Qureshi released the following statement:

“We are deeply disappointed by the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) language recently introduced by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Young people have spent years pushing for meaningful online protections, including advocating for COPPA 2.0 alongside Sens. Markey and Cassidy and Reps. Castor and Walberg, but H.R. 6291 is far from what this crisis demands. In fact, it sets us backwards.

We’ve supported modernizing and updating COPPA; however, this version is toothless. Instead of strengthening safeguards for young people, the bill’s structure undermines the protections we have fought for.

Most concerning:

The bill’s preemption language could wipe out strong state-level protections and nullify any state law “relating to” COPPA’s provisions. This would include the Age-Appropriate Design Codes (AADC) we have advocated for in Maryland, Nebraska, Vermont, and California. Stripping states of the ability to protect young people is unacceptable.
The bill’s weakened knowledge standard allows companies to disregard the very children using their products, failing to guarantee them safe experiences. This lets companies escape accountability while young users remain exposed in unsafe online spaces.
This most recent version does not reflect the needs, experiences, or demands of young people, and it abandons the progress made in earlier bipartisan efforts to protect minors online.

“We urge members of Congress to restore the stronger Senate COPPA 2.0 language, which better protects young people online in navigating digital spaces. Design It For Us will continue to fight for laws that center young voices and deliver real, enforceable protections. We are not going to accept industry carve-outs disguised as reform. Young people deserve better, so Congress must do better.”

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Statement from Design It For Us on the Meta Antitrust Decision

Design It For Us Co-Chair Zamaan Qureshi released the following statement:

“Design It For Us is deeply disappointed that Chief Judge Boasberg’s ruling today excused Meta’s anticompetitive takeover of Instagram and WhatsApp. This decision bolsters Meta’s power even after it has repeatedly shown it will put profit over young people’s safety, well-being, and ability to shape the digital world they grow up in.

“For years, Meta has bought its way out of fair competition, absorbing platforms that young people rely on and tightening its grip on digital spaces. Pretending the acquisition at the center of this ruling isn’t monopoly power ignores reality. This ruling gives Meta a free pass at the exact moment when regulators should be stepping up. It rewards a system where tech giants can pick off emerging platforms rather than compete with them. This means that young people have fewer choices, fewer safeguards, and fewer online spaces built with their needs in mind.

“Like the Google search remedies ruling by a California judge, Judge Boasberg has missed a legitimate opportunity to hold Meta accountable for its antitrust violations. Now, markets will be less competitive, allowing Meta’s monopolistic conduct to continue. While we believe regulators have ample authority under existing antitrust law to take on monopoly power, the case could not be clearer for Congressional action to update and improve our antitrust laws to regulate digital markets. That is why Design It For Us has endorsed bills like the Open App Markets Act and the App Store Freedom Act because they claw back power from these digital goliaths for our generation.”

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