Publications: Alex Ambrose

Jonathan Haidt’s claims that smartphones and social media are the primary drivers of the youth mental health crisis overstate the evidence and ignore broader social, economic, and developmental factors. Rather than imposing blanket bans, policymakers should focus on teaching digital literacy and supporting age-appropriate, responsible technology use.

App store–level age verification laws pose privacy, security, and free-speech risks while leaving websites unregulated, whereas device-level, opt-in parental controls offer a more comprehensive and safer way to protect children online.

The UK’s proposed under-16 social media ban reflects a recurring moral panic about new technologies and would undermine youth connection, parental choice, and online privacy without evidence that blanket bans address the real causes of harms to children.

The U.S. is one of the few countries that doesn’t pay recording artists royalties when their music is played on AM/FM radio, and the American Music Fairness Act would close this loophole, ensuring artists are fairly compensated while leveling the playing field with streaming and satellite services.

France’s criminal investigation into TikTok for imperfect content moderation sets a dangerous precedent that would chill lawful speech and push platforms toward overly restrictive policies.

Banning AI companions may appear protective, but broad restrictions would cut youth off from beneficial support tools, create privacy risks through age verification, and overregulate general chatbots instead of improving safety with better parental controls and transparency.

Rather than following the UK’s lead on children’s online safety, U.S. policymakers should learn from their mistakes and chart a better path that skillfully preserves user privacy, limits collateral damage, and removes the incentives for online services to over-remove lawful content.

The Supreme Court upheld Texas’s online age checks, opening the door to fragmented state laws. Congress should create a single national “child flag” system to protect kids and simplify compliance.

AR/VR innovation needs to accelerate in order to meet the critical demands of health care. Policymakers should empower and fund immersive technologies in the health-care industry because of the long-term cost saving benefits and positive impact on patient care.

Instead of legislating AI companions based on a real understanding of the benefits and potential harms of AI companions, states risk over-regulating before the technology can reach its full potential.