Press & Media

Check out the latest developments in youth advocacy and YPA's work to restore the American Dream.

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Showing 20 of 85 results

Media CoverageQuoted|October 14, 2026|Mashable

Mashable: What 'The Social Reckoning' Misses

Mashable examines what the Meta film 'The Social Reckoning' leaves out, quoting Sam Hiner, Executive Director of Young People's Alliance, on why users stay on Meta's platforms: "Too many people are complacent because they don't know an alternative," with the fear of missing out and network effects making it hard for competitors to emerge.

Media CoverageQuoted|October 9, 2026|WUSA9

WUSA9: DC Council Weighs If and How Much Technology Should Be in Schools

WUSA9 covers the D.C. Council's public hearing on screen time and AI in classrooms, quoting Young People's Alliance Research Analyst Samantha Richter, who has researched classroom technology across the country, on the need for balance rather than pretending AI isn't happening and "setting people up for failure."

Press Release|October 5, 2026|YPA Press Release

AI Chatbots Gave Inaccurate Answers on California Races and Ballot Measures, Analysis Finds

An analysis by the California Initiative for Technology and Democracy (CITED) and Young People's Alliance finds AI chatbots gave inaccurate answers about California's governor's race, LA mayor's race, and statewide ballot initiatives, raising trust concerns as more voters turn to AI.

Media CoverageMention|October 5, 2026|The San Francisco Standard

The San Francisco Standard: Asking a Chatbot About Your Ballot? Read This First

The San Francisco Standard covers an analysis from Common Cause and the Young People's Alliance that tested six of the largest AI chatbots on California ballot measures and the races for governor and L.A. mayor, finding that while the chatbots are often correct, they also fabricate answers and misdirect voters in unpredictable ways.

Press Release|October 1, 2026|YPA Press Release

Young People's Alliance Proud to Support Bipartisan Protecting Kids from Human-Like Chatbots Act

YPA supports the bipartisan Protecting Kids from Human-Like Chatbots Act from Reps. Whitesides, Miller-Meeks, Matsui, and Kennedy, which requires chatbots to be non-personified for minors, with a statement from Advocacy Director and Cofounder Mick Tobin.

Media CoverageQuoted|October 1, 2026|SCV News

SCV News: Whitesides' Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Children from Chatbots

SCV News covers the introduction of the bipartisan Protecting Kids from Human-Like Chatbots Act from Reps. George Whitesides, Mike Kennedy, Doris Matsui, and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, which Young People's Alliance endorsed, quoting Executive Director Sam Hiner calling it the first federal bill to advance the ideas championed by the Human-like AI Coalition and the strongest federal approach yet to keep AI a tool.

Media CoverageMention|September 30, 2026|The New Yorker

The New Yorker: The Humanism Driving the Anti-A.I. Movement

The New Yorker reports from the Pro-Human Assembly in Washington, D.C., where attendees spoke less about jobs and policy than about their philosophy of life, including a twenty-two-year-old Young People's Alliance member who said she felt she'd "lost brain cells" since she started using A.I.

Media CoverageFeature|September 30, 2026|WUNC Due South

WUNC Due South: In Harm's Way: Technology and What It's Doing to Our Children, Our Schools and Our Society

WUNC's Due South hosts Young People's Alliance Advocacy Director Mick Tobin alongside UNC psychologist Mitch Prinstein, Elon University's Lee Rainie, and parent organizer Mary Beth Roche for a conversation on the Meta and TikTok litigation, school cell phone policies, the risks of artificial intelligence, and what can be done about technology's harms to young people.

Media CoverageQuoted|September 18, 2026|NPR

NPR: How Google is drafting AI chatbot laws around the country

NPR investigates a tech industry lobbying effort, led by Google, to write state AI chatbot bills with exemptions that would shield the most widely used chatbots from the rules the bills claim to set, quoting Young People's Alliance cofounder Mick Tobin on how advocates working in different states kept finding the exact same bill language, with Google turning up to lobby for it.

Op-Eds|September 14, 2026|The 74

Schools Should Help Students Navigate AI, Not Ban It

Akankshya Swain, a student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Lira Roome, a senior at Midlothian High School in Virginia, both YPA members, argue that banning AI in schools leaves students to figure it out alone and risks a new digital divide, and that schools should teach students to use it well instead.

Press Release|September 11, 2026|YPA Press Release

Young People's Alliance Statement on Governor Newsom's Signage of Social Media and AI Safety Legislation

YPA responds to Governor Newsom signing AB 2, AB 1709, and SB 1119 into law, with a statement from Western Regional Director George Ashford on what are now some of the strongest social media and AI safety guardrails in the nation.

Media CoverageQuoted|September 9, 2026|ABC11 Raleigh-Durham

ABC11: North Carolina Supreme Court hears arguments in TikTok lawsuit

ABC11 Raleigh-Durham covers oral arguments over whether North Carolina's lawsuit against TikTok and ByteDance can proceed, quoting Young People's Alliance cofounder Mick Tobin, a Duke graduate and North Carolina native, on how addictive feeds erode young people's sense of time and self-esteem, and why the conversation should move away from personal responsibility.

Press Release|September 1, 2026|YPA Press Release

Young People's Alliance Celebrates Passage of AB 1709, California's Targeted Ban on Addictive Design Features

YPA celebrates the passage of AB 1709, which prohibits social media platforms from serving addictive features and feeds to users under 16, after youth advocates urged the legislature to replace the bill's original under-16 access ban with a targeted prohibition on addictive design.

Media CoverageQuoted|August 29, 2026|Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone: New Facebook and Instagram Rules Are Coming for Teens. Will They Help?

Rolling Stone breaks down the teen-safety changes Meta agreed to as part of its settlement, quoting Young People's Alliance cofounder Mick Tobin on why removing the algorithmic feed and hiding likes matters, why the two-hour limit may not, and why the settlement should be treated as a failure of Congress rather than the end of the fight.

Media CoverageQuoted|August 28, 2026|The Apopka Chief

The Apopka Chief: FLCA Symposium Updates Apopka on Data Centers, AI Policy

The Apopka Chief covers a Florida Citizens Alliance symposium on data center development and AI policy, quoting Young People's Alliance National Organizing Director Alex Dray on turning grassroots concern into bipartisan AI companion chatbot laws in Nebraska, Washington, and Hawaii.

Media CoverageMention|August 27, 2026|DC News Now

DC News Now: DMV Parents Who Lost Children to Online Harms Say Meta Settlement Is Progress, But Not Enough

DC News Now interviews Washington-area parents who lost children to online harms about Meta's $17 billion settlement, noting Young People's Alliance among the youth advocacy groups pushing for stronger protections across the tech industry.

Media CoverageQuoted|August 27, 2026|Mashable

Mashable: Meta Settlement: 5 Big Changes for Instagram, Facebook

Mick Tobin, Co-Founder and Advocacy Director of Young People's Alliance, is quoted extensively on Meta's $17 billion settlement and its new teen design changes, welcoming the shift while warning that the terms only need to remain in effect for 10 years and depend on Meta actually implementing them effectively.

Press Release|August 26, 2026|YPA Press Release

Young People's Alliance Statement on Meta Settlement Over Predatory Design Practices

YPA responds to Meta's $17 billion multistate settlement over predatory design practices that knowingly addicted and manipulated millions of young people, with a statement from Advocacy Director Mick Tobin.

Media CoverageMention|August 26, 2026|The Boston Globe

The Boston Globe: AI Data Center Protest Puts Pressure on Rep. Trahan's Federal AI Regulation Bill

The Boston Globe covers a grassroots protest outside Rep. Lori Trahan's Lowell office opposing her federal AI regulation bill, naming Young People's Alliance, whose students helped organize the demonstration, among the advocacy groups involved.

Media CoverageQuoted|August 26, 2026|Tech Policy Press

Tech Policy Press: What's in Meta's Teen Social Media Settlement, and What Hinges on Its Rivals

Mick Tobin, Co-Founder and Advocacy Director of Young People's Alliance, is quoted on how the settlement's design protections, from turning off algorithmic feeds to hiding like counts, reflect changes young people have demanded for years to combat compulsive use and social comparison.