Varun Mukund

On October 24th, 2023, a collective force of 33 states filed a lawsuit against Meta, the parent company of social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The suit, filed in California district court, alleged that Meta had used advertising tailored towards children, which made them addicted to its services, while its failure to properly regulate its platforms created a dangerous and harmful environment for them. The lawsuit against Meta Platforms is of utmost importance to the SPRING Group. As an organization exclusively composed of students who are young adults, the members of the Group are in the age cohort that Meta has directly tailored its deceptive advertising towards. On top of our knowledge regarding the addictive effects of social media, such as Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, on younger children, SPRING fellows also have personal experiences with living childhoods defined by the constant usage of social networks. As part of its goal of highlighting youth viewpoints on issues of concern to them, SPRING seeks to bring the unique perspective of high school students into the states’ action against Meta. This brief analyzes the specific causes of action in the lawsuit, specifically Meta’s youth-tailored advertising, their negligence and misrepresentation to the public, as well as their harms on the physical and mental safety of younger users. It then delves into the validity of the lawsuit, how it is likely to be ruled upon, and what courts have done or will likely do with it.

The solitary confinement of juvenile delinquents is a widespread practice across America’s 50 states. Under specific circumstances, law enforcement is permitted to keep these individuals isolated by themselves in separate sections of the facility. The specific conditions of youth solitary confinement and the requirements necessary for it to be used differ across each American state. Some use it in many circumstances, others never at all. The range of hours spent in solitary confinement ranges from as low as 0, in states that do not implement the practice for juveniles, to as high as over 101. This report outlines the details of when youth solitary confinement is used, the quality of that youth solitary confinement when it is used, and any notable reports or statistics coming out of each state. A graphic representation of the amount of hours each state allows will be included to visualize the national differences in use of the practice.

In the past three years, the number of deaths caused by fentanyl overdoses has skyrocketed. The drug is 100 times more potent than morphine and just 2 milligrams of fentanyl, equal to 10 to 15 grains of table salt, is considered a lethal dose. Illegally manufactured fentanyl is found in heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and in counterfeit pills. Teenagers are the center of this epidemic. They consume common drugs, unknowing that it might contain traces of fentanyl and that those traces are enough to be fatal. It is imperative that action is taken at every level to combat the epidemic and protect those that are most vulnerable. In this brief, we cover the basic mechanisms of how fentanyl functions, how it affects the human body, how it is propagated throughout society, who is most at risk of fentanyl poisoning, and how it might fall into those groups’ hands. We stand in support of The Nyl Project’s attention on the surge in fentanyl-related deaths in the United States of America, believing that more is needed to involve NGOs, educate susceptible populations, and prevent overdoses to end the epidemic once and for all. Now more than ever, schools, governments, and NGOs need to step up and take action.

Persistent barriers in veteran employment—ranging from skill-translation gaps and programmatic cuts to demographic disparities—continue to undermine the stability and well-being of those transitioning from military to civilian life, despite deceptively low headline unemployment rates. By situating the VET Act of 2025 within the landscape of earlier energy-sector initiatives, the analysis highlights both its strengthened grant structure and the remaining shortcomings that must be addressed to ensure equitable access, accountability, and long-term workforce integration. Grounded in evidence on the financial, mental health, and mission-driven benefits of energy-sector employment for veterans, the brief underscores the urgency of comprehensive, well-funded policy action to support those whose service has come at great personal cost.

The Trade Review Act of 2025 seeks to rebalance trade authority by requiring the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of imposing or increasing any tariff and allowing those tariffs to expire after 60 days unless Congress approves them. By establishing a streamlined process for both approval and disapproval, the act strengthens legislative oversight while preserving the President’s ability to act quickly in genuine national-security emergencies. Supporters argue that this reform is necessary to prevent the kind of unilateral, economically disruptive tariff actions seen in recent years, including expansive uses of Sections 232 and 301. While critics warn that the bill could constrain executive flexibility and create openings for foreign lobbying, the article maintains that transparent, democratically accountable trade policy is essential for protecting consumers, industries, and U.S. global credibility.

Social media use among children and teens has surged, contributing to declining mental health, unrealistic body expectations, academic struggles, and growing exposure to harmful content. The Kids Online Safety Act aims to address these harms by requiring platforms to limit addictive features, restrict harmful algorithmic recommendations, curb promotion of self-harm and exploitation, and provide reporting mechanisms and audits to protect minors. Despite bipartisan momentum, the bill faces major objections centered on First Amendment risks, vague definitions like “duty of care,” and the potential over-censorship of resources important to marginalized youth. The article argues that while protecting children online is essential, the bill must be more precise and balanced to prevent government overreach and safeguard access to critical information.

The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act seeks to restore and modernize the core protections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act by reinstating federal preclearance for jurisdictions with recent histories of voting discrimination. By updating coverage formulas, strengthening safeguards against vote dilution and denial, and using retrogression as a standard, the bill aims to prevent discriminatory laws before they take effect. It responds directly to the harmful impacts of the Shelby County v. Holder decision, which triggered widespread poll closures, voter purges, and restrictive ID laws. While the bill offers strong oversight and transparency mechanisms, its effectiveness depends on adequate resources for enforcement and careful management of federal authority.

Antisemitism in the United States has surged to historic levels, with college campuses experiencing the steepest rise in incidents, including harassment, vandalism, and exclusion targeting Jewish students. Civil rights law, particularly Title VI, provides a framework for protecting students, but universities have struggled to balance free expression with preventing hostile environments. The Stop Antisemitism on College Campuses Act (H.R. 2446) seeks to strengthen accountability by tying Title IV funding to institutional efforts to prevent and address antisemitism, using the IHRA definition as investigative guidance. While aiming to ensure safer campus climates, the legislation raises concerns about free speech, federal overreach, and inconsistent enforcement.

Persistent gaps in legal protections, data visibility, and institutional support have allowed discrimination against LGBTQ+ people to manifest in mental health disparities, academic barriers, and economic instability, with the harshest effects falling on youth and those at intersecting marginalized identities. Positioned within the broader history of civil rights legislation, the Equality Act builds on decades of incomplete protections while provoking debate over its scope, implementation, and implications for privacy and religious liberty. By grounding its policy recommendations in empirical evidence and historical precedent, the analysis underscores the urgent need for comprehensive federal safeguards to reduce disparities and expand equitable access to public life.

Union power in the United States has eroded due to declining membership, widespread misclassification, and wage stagnation that disproportionately harms vulnerable workers. The PRO Act seeks to modernize labor protections by strengthening the right to organize, extending employee status through the ABC test, and enforcing meaningful penalties for employer violations. While these reforms aim to rebalance workplace power, concerns about economic strain, reduced worker flexibility, and disproportionate impacts on small businesses highlight the need for targeted, sector-specific adjustments.

Arms transfers are directly linked to human rights. In conflict, transferred weapons and arms split apart families, equipping nations with exponentially larger capacity for destruction and annihilation. Given the nature of arms, access to information about arms transfers is often asymmetric between the public, government stakeholders, state-owned enterprises, and private companies; a trade-off exists between the benefits of making information public and transparent with the downsides of revealing sensitive national security items or trade secrets. In this brief, we review the legal landscape of access to information laws, highlighting applicability to arms transfers to analyze how transparent/accessible information and data regarding arms transfers are in the status quo. We stand in support of the Human Rights Council’s attention on arms transfers, believing that more is needed to involve NGOs, close international loopholes, and track responsible arms usage with technology to uphold human rights for all.

The Overtime Pay Tax Relief Act seeks to make overtime compensation tax-deductible for workers, allowing up to 20% of eligible overtime earnings to be excluded from taxable income and phasing out benefits at higher income levels. By increasing take-home pay and incentivizing additional hours, the bill aims to support workers during ongoing labor shortages and stimulate bottom-up economic growth. However, the legislation introduces concerns about federal revenue loss, tax-code complexity, and potential inequities between workers with similar annual earnings but different wage structures. To strengthen equity and sustainability, the article recommends adopting a graduated deduction and implementing safeguards to prevent wage distortion and misclassification.

Queer inmates are disproportionately represented in prisons. In a 2011 survey, around 16% of transgender respondents and 47% of Black transgender respondents experienced incarceration, despite making up only 2.7% of the population nationally. In total, 124,000 of those incarcerated in US prisons & jails identify as LGBTQ and 6,000 identify as transgender.

An alarming number of households have unreliable access or none at all to an Internet connection and the technology needed to attain digital education. Over 9 million students14—around 12% of the total student population15—lack access to the Internet entirely. 1 in 4 students have unreliable Internet networks. This also extends to teachers, as around 400,000 lack access to digital education.16 ...

Social media has exploded in usage amongst children. 50% of parents state that their child has access to some type of social media, with 32% of parents reporting that their children aged 7 to 9 have access to social media. Three quarters of parents have shared the content of their children online.1 ...

The up-and-coming technological development that will define the next few centuries of scientific advancement is not in Artificial Intelligence, but rather our understanding of the sub-atomic: quantum. The quantum revolution leverages new innovative understandings in science theory and engineering capability to create new solutions in diverse spaces from cryptography to physical materials. Quantum computers, which offer the real possibility of replacing classical computers for intensive tasks, have the potential to transform and optimise sectors from agr...

As the implementation of Juvenile Detention as a mechanism to hold youth accountable has been growing, so has the profound negative impacts it has on these teenagers. Studies have found that teens often experience severe mental health conditions during and after their sentence in Juvenile Detention including anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. The isolation in Juvenile Detention often causes psychological and behavioral issues, including aggressive and disruptive behaviors within kids. Despite several attempts at reform on a federal and state lev...