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Design It For Us

Website:

designitforus.org/
Location:

Washington, DC
Status:

Project of North Fund
Formation:

2022
Co-Chairs:

Emma Lembke and Zamaan Qureshi

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Design It For Us is a coalition that was formed by activists from left-of-center technology policy activist groups Log Off Movement and Tech(nically) Politics to support the California Age Appropriate Design Code (AADC). 1 2

Design It For Us presents itself as a grassroots youth technology advocacy group, but it is a registered trade name of the left-of-center North Fund, which is administered by philanthropic consultancy Arabella Advisors. 3 The group has lobbied Congress for tech safety bills 4 and its founder, Emma Lembke, was invited by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) to testify before the U.S. Senate on the impacts of social media. 5

Design It For Us has received support from Archewell, the private foundation of Prince Harry of the United Kingdom and his wife, American actress Meghan Markle. 6 7 It is a member of Archewell’s Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund Power Cohort, which supports the critical race theory-influenced concept of equitable technology. 8

History and Leadership

Design It For Us was formed in 2022 by activists from left-of-center technology policy activist groups Log Off and Tech(nically) Politics to support the California Age Appropriate Design Code (AADC). 9 10

Emma Lembke and Zamaan Qureshi are the co-chairs of Design It For Us. Lembke is the founder of the left-of-center Log Off Movement 11 and a co-founder of left-of-center technology policy activist group Tech(nically) Politics, Design It For Us’s parent organizations. 12 13 Qureshi is a policy advisor and social media coordinator for the Real Facebook Oversight Board, an organization that claims social media network Facebook is used to subvert elections, fuel hate speech, and spread disinformation. 14 15

Activities and Funding

Design It For Us is a coalition that was formed in 2022 by activists from the left-of-center technology policy activist groups Log Off and Tech(nically) Politics to support the California Age Appropriate Design Code (AADC). 16 17 The group advocates for curtailing speech online under the pretext of safer social media and online platforms for kids, teens, and young adults. 18

The coalition’s work helped support the passage of the AADC, which regulates the collection, storage, processing, and transfer of children’s data online and is scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2024. 19 On September 18, 2023, a federal judge granted a request for preliminary injunction from NetChoice, finding it likely that the California AADC likely violates the First Amendment. 20 21 The coalition has supported other similar “online safety” acts and design code bills in Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, and New Mexico. 22

Design It For Us has claimed to be led by a team of individuals aged 18 to 26, 23 but it is a registered trade name of the left-of-center North Fund, which is administered by Arabella Advisors. 24 The coalition has opposed bans of social media network TikTok, 25 demands changes to the online ecosystem in the United States, 26 and has worked with the left-of-center American Federation of Teachers labor union. 27

In February 2023, Design It For Us co-chair Emma Lembke was invited by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) to testify before the U.S. Senate on the impacts of social media. 29 The group advocated in favor of the Kids Online Safety Act, which would “stop algorithmic amplification of harmful content online.” 30

Design It For Us has received support from Archewell, the private foundation of Prince Harry of the United Kingdom and his wife, American actress Meghan Markle. 31 33 Design It For Us’s other supporting organizations include Blue Future, Civics Unplugged, Encode Justice, Gen Z for Change, Log Off Movement, ReThink, NoSo November, and Young People’s Alliance. 34

Funding

Design It For Us receives funding from individual donations and grants. Individual donations to Design It For Us are routed through Democratic-aligned payment processor ActBlue Civics. 35

In 2023, Design It For Us received a grant from Archewell’s Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund. 36 Organizations partnering to issue grants from this fund include the left-of-center Omidyar Network Fund, Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, Carmel Hill Fund, New Media Ventures, Oak Foundation, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. 37

References

  1. “About.” Design It for Us. Accessed September 25, 2023. https://designitforus.org/about/.
  2. “LinkedIn Post.” Emma Lembke Linked In. Accessed September 28, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/emma-lembke-750793189_design-it-for-us-activity-6957727248984481793-bDKQ/?trk=public_profile_like_view&originalSubdomain=nl.
  3. “North Fund.” Open Corporates. Accessed September 25, 2023. https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_dc/EXTUID_4231080.
  4. “Tweet.” Senator Dick Durbin Twitter. Posted July 18, 2023. Accessed September 28, 2023. https://twitter.com/SenatorDurbin/status/1681393031725842437.
  5. “Tweet.” Emma Lembke Twitter. Posted February 15, 2023. Accessed September 28, 2023. https://twitter.com/EmmaLembke/status/1626040252195373056.
  6. “The Archewell Foundation Congratulates Youth Activism Movement To Design A Safer Internet.” Archewell. September 2, 2023. Accessed October 1, 2023. https://archewell.com/news/archewell-congratulates-youth-activism-movement-to-design-a-safer-internet/.
  7. “Tweet.” Design It For Us Twitter. Posted August 2, 2023. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://twitter.com/DesignItForUs?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor.
  8. “2023 Responsible Tech Youth Power Fund Cohort.” Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund. Accessed September 30, 2023. https://www.rtyouthpower.org/.
  9. “About.” Design It for Us. Accessed September 25, 2023. https://designitforus.org/about/.
  10. “LinkedIn Post.” Emma Lembke Linked In. Accessed September 28, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/emma-lembke-750793189_design-it-for-us-activity-6957727248984481793-bDKQ/?trk=public_profile_like_view&originalSubdomain=nl.
  11. Halpert, Julie. “A New Student Movement Wants You to Log Off.” New York Times. June 14, 2022. Updated June 15, 2023. Accessed October 1, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/14/style/log-off-movement-emma-lembke.html.
  12. “About the Movement.” Tech(nically) Politics. Accessed October 1, 2023. https://www.technicallypolitics.org/about-us.
  13. “About.” Design It for Us. Accessed October 1, 2023. https://designitforus.org/about/.
  14. “About.” Design It for Us. Accessed September 25, 2023. https://designitforus.org/about/.
  15. “Home.” The Real Facebook Oversight Board. Accessed October 1, 2023. https://the-citizens.com/campaign/real-facebook-oversight-board/.
  16. [1] “About.” Design It for Us. Accessed September 25, 2023. https://designitforus.org/about/.
  17. “LinkedIn Post.” Emma Lembke Linked In. Accessed September 28, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/emma-lembke-750793189_design-it-for-us-activity-6957727248984481793-bDKQ/?trk=public_profile_like_view&originalSubdomain=nl.
  18. “Donate to Design It For Us.” ActBlue. Accessed September 25, 2023. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/design-it-for-us.
  19. “About.” Design It for Us. Accessed September 25, 2023. https://designitforus.org/about/.
  20. “Federal Judge Blocks the California Age-Appropriate Design Code.” Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP. September 18, 2023. Accessed October 1, 2023. https://www.huntonprivacyblog.com/2023/09/18/federal-judge-blocks-the-california-age-appropriate-design-code/.
  21. Hutton, Christopher. “Author of California child privacy law paused by court sees strong appeal prospects.” Washington Examiner. September 22, 2023. Accessed October 1, 2023. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/technology/ca-child-internet-privacy-law-author-disappointment.
  22. “Take Action.” Design It For Us. Accessed September 30, 2023. https://designitforus.org/take-action/.
  23. “About.” Design It for Us. Accessed September 25, 2023. https://designitforus.org/about/.
  24.  “North Fund.” Open Corporates. Accessed September 25, 2023. https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_dc/EXTUID_4231080.
  25. “Tweet.” Design It For Us Twitter. Posted April 14, 2023. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://x.com/DesignItForUs/status/1646999369114337281?s=20.
  26. Lima, Cristiano. “The young activists shaking up the kids’ online safety debate.” Washington Post. September 5, 2023. Accessed October 1, 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/09/05/kosa-bill-2023-youth-activists-social-media/.
  27. “Tweet.” Design It For Us Twitter. Posted July 21, 2023. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://x.com/DesignItForUs/status/1682530419571400706?s=20.
  29. “Tweet.” Emma Lembke Twitter. Posted February 15, 2023. Accessed September 28, 2023. https://twitter.com/EmmaLembke/status/1626040252195373056./note] In July 2022, Design It For Us met with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and other democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee to “protect kids online.” 28 “Tweet.” Senator Dick Durbin Twitter. Posted July 18, 2023. Accessed September 28, 2023. https://twitter.com/SenatorDurbin/status/1681393031725842437.
  30. “Tweet.” Design It For Us Twitter. Posted July 26, 2023. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://x.com/DesignItForUs/status/1684327612632403968?s=20.
  31. “The Archewell Foundation Congratulates Youth Activism Movement To Design A Safer Internet.” Archewell. September 2, 2023. Accessed October 1, 2023. https://archewell.com/news/archewell-congratulates-youth-activism-movement-to-design-a-safer-internet/.
  33. “Tweet.” Design It For Us Twitter. Posted August 2, 2023. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://twitter.com/DesignItForUs?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor.[/note[ The coalition is a member of Archewell’s Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund Power Cohort, which supports the critical race theory-influenced concept of equitable technology. 32 “2023 Responsible Tech Youth Power Fund Cohort.” Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund. Accessed September 30, 2023. https://www.rtyouthpower.org/.
  34.  “About.” Design It for Us. Accessed September 25, 2023. https://designitforus.org/about/.
  35. “Donate to Design It For Us.” ActBlue. Accessed September 25, 2023. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/design-it-for-us.
  36. “Tweet.” Design It For Us Twitter. Posed August 4, 2023. Accessed September 26, 2023. https://x.com/DesignItForUs/status/1687496302995648512?s=20.
  37. “Young Leaders in Technology Granted $2 Million to Create Safe and Inclusive Online Spaces.” Omidyar Network. August 2, 2023. Accessed September 28, 2023. https://omidyar.com/young-leaders-in-technology-granted-2-million-to-create-safe-and-inclusive-online-spaces/.
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Design It For Us

1828 L Street NW, Suite 300-F
Washington, DC