Semafor: Exclusive / Democrats’ ‘Project 2029’ online safety plan
- Project 2029
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
Democrats trying to lay policy groundwork for the 2028 presidential race are rolling out their first major policy proposal: a framework for online child safety.
Known as “Project 2029,” the liberal group was formed as a counterweight to the conservative Project 2025 to write a policy agenda for the next Democratic presidential nominee. The group reckons starting with online internet safety — which has widespread Democratic support — will help galvanize the party to address what it calls this generation’s “tobacco moment.”
“We’re going to see many people running for president … and we want to set the standard in terms of the type of ambition that we want to see when it comes to solving these problems,” said Chad Maisel, a former adviser to President Joe Biden and Democratic Sen. Cory Booker who now serves as Project 2029’s executive director.
The proposal also advocates for banning social media accounts for kids under 16 years old, adopting stronger default privacy protections, designing safer internet platforms, banning cell phones in schools (with exceptions), pushing for a smartphone-free childhood until age 14, banning surveillance advertising, and limiting data collection on children.
Project 2029 wanted to start with kids safety because it’s among the least politically polarizing topics, but plans to release policy agendas centered on issues including healthcare, housing, AI, and the border.
“Most high-profile political issues are already coded and claimed by one party or the other. Kids’ online safety is the exception,” said Rishi Bharwani, US Director for Reset Tech and a contributor to Project 2029 who helped prepare the framework. “The next president has the ability to run on these issues and enter the White House with a clear mandate for action and a day-one policy blueprint that they can coalesce congressional leaders around.”
“We are at the ‘tobacco moment’ for social media. The science is in, the lawsuits are succeeding, and public support is overwhelming. This agenda gives policymakers no excuse not to act,” said social psychologist Jonathan Haidt.
Haidt is among a number of prominent supporters of the framework, including New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, President of the American Federation of Teachers Randi Weingarten, and Booker, a potential 2028 presidential candidate.
“This blueprint offers several serious ideas for how to rein in these harmful practices, promote more responsible technology, and better protect kids online,” Booker told Semafor in a statement.
