Design It For Us unveils 2027 AI safety platform

Design It For Us is positioning its 2027 platform as a response to what it sees as a missed opportunity in social media regulation. The group says it shaped its must-haves by taking lessons from Washington's failure to regulate social media, and it is now applying that experience to AI. The platform's specific demands — government authority to block dangerous model deployments, independent testing and minimum capability standards for large AI companies, liability for harms, and room for state-level regulation — are presented as fixes for gaps the group identified in earlier tech oversight.

The timing reflects a political calculation. The group is calling for Congress to pass a bill by the end of 2027, and if Democrats win control of one or both chambers next month, the group's work on AI issues leaves it well-positioned. That suggests the platform is meant to shape the agenda ahead of a possible shift in legislative control.

The group's track record on kids' online safety bills shows both its influence and its limits. It has often influenced lawmakers to draft stronger legislation, but its key goal, the Kids Online Safety Act, has yet to pass Congress. Whether the AI platform fares better may depend on how much traction its proposals gain with lawmakers in the next session.