Team,

As the year comes to a close, we wanted to look back on all that we’ve been able to accomplish together:

This year, Design It For Us took a huge step — we became an independent organization. This wouldn’t have been possible without the strength of our coalition, the persistence of our youth leaders and staff, and the support of all the organizations and people on our side — including you!

The reality is that it’s up to us to demand a digital world that works for all of us, and we’re so proud to keep rising to the occasion. From our foundation starting as a handful of young people to a sweeping movement shaping the conversation around tech, we’ve made so much progress.

Because of your advocacy and support, we’ve been able to pass bills across the country to keep young people safe online — like the Vermont Age-Appropriate Design Code to regulate Big Tech’s design practices, [1] the TAKE IT DOWN Act to combat AI-generated non-consensual intimate images, [2] and SB 53 in California, which holds the largest AI developers accountable. [3]

Shoulder-to-shoulder, hundreds of us showed up in-person to protest Big Tech’s failures: Apple’s monopolistic control of the app ecosystem and its refusal to protect children, [4] and Meta’s complete disregard for protecting kids’ safety over their profits. [5]

Your support has fueled our ability to conduct research: we were the first organization in the U.S. to investigate Meta’s supposed guardrails on Instagram Teen Accounts, finding that Meta is failing its young users. This research is a foundational tool that we continue to leverage in our fight to hold the company accountable. [6]

We’ve been able to scale our presence across the country, offering programs to develop young leaders through our State Organizing Academy. This has enabled us to train advocates with critical skills in community organizing, communications, and policy work. [7]

And with insight from supporters like you, we launched our Declaration of Digital Rights, [8] following our Campus Tour. This foundational document is a proclamation of our values and what we believe are our inalienable rights existing in the digital world, made to guide our movement toward our vision of a digital world crafted for young people, and in essence, designed for us.

We are incredibly proud of all that we’ve been able to accomplish in just one year. And our work is only ramping up. If you’re able, please support this work so we can continue fighting back against Big Tech into the new year and beyond.

SUPPORT OUR WORK

We’re endlessly grateful for your support.

In solidarity,
The DIFU Leadership Team

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Sources:

1. Design It For Us: Design It For Us Applauds Signing of the Vermont Age-Appropriate Design Code into Law
2. Design It For Us: Design It For Us Endorses the TAKE IT DOWN Act
3. Politico: How California struck a landmark law to rein in rogue AI
4. ABC 7 NY: Protest at Apple flagship store demanding safety guards on apps to protect kids
5. ABC 7 NY: Grieving families hold vigil outside New York City Meta office, demand more protections for kids
6. The Washington Post: Gen Z users and a dad tested Instagram Teen Accounts. Their feeds were shocking
7. LinkedIn: Design It For Us
8. Design It For Us: Declaration of Digital Rights

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