Latest news with #AlleighMarre
Fox News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Parents group urges Trump admin to investigate YMCA over gender identity policies
A parents' group is urging the Trump administration to investigate the YMCA for what it claims is "unlawful gender-based discrimination in its programs and policies." "The YMCA's policy of disfavoring and imperiling young girls and favoring and empowering those who choose to present as a gender other than their own is antithetical to the principles of federal civil rights law and gender equality," Alleigh Marré, executive director of the American Parents Coalition, said in a letter directed to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner. "It is morally wrong and legally impermissible," Marré added in the letter sent Tuesday. Archived pages of the YMCA's website called, "How to Create a Safe Space for LGBTQ+ Campers," and dated July 3, 2017, read "Ensure all campers and staff have access to the facilities aligned with their gender identity and comfort within facility and resource limitations." The page also recommends that youth development professionals "use gender-neutral (or self-identified) pronouns when referencing guardians/parents, partners, families and significant others," and "lift up stories of LGBTQ+ inclusion in trainings, marketing and camp activities." Another archived page, "Affirming LGBTQ+ Communities with Pride," and dated June 7, 2022, states that the institution is meant to unite people "no matter their ability, age, cultural background, ethnicity, faith, gender expression, gender identity, ideology, income, national origin, race or sexual orientation." A current page on the YMCA's website titled, "For All," states that "The Y is made up of people of all ages, from all backgrounds, working side-by-side to strengthen communities. Together, we work to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential with dignity." It adds that their "core values are caring, honesty, respect and responsibility — they guide everything we do." Marré and the American Parents Coalition claim the YMCA is engaging in unlawful gender-based discrimination in its programs and policies and allege the YMCA is violating Title IX since the organization is a recipient of federal funds. On its website, the YMCA states that it receives over $600 million in government grants and over $930 million in non-government grants. "As a recipient of federal financial assistance, it is obligated to comply with the mandates of Title IX of the Education Amendments," the APC letter reads. Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex or gender for entities that receive federal funding. "There is little room for interpretation where the law is so explicit," the letter reads. "This broad prohibition underscores the law's role in eliminating gender-based barriers to women's equal participation in all aspects of programming and activities, providing for "the women of America something that is rightfully theirs—an equal chance. The YMCA's policies permitting biological men to invade the sanctity of spaces set aside for women undoubtably violates this law." The letter also highlights various instances of recent issues at several YMCA locations where women have been subjected to change in the same facilities as men. One such instance was in Kansas City, Missouri, where a biological male is being accused of allegedly exposing themselves to a seven-year-old girl while she was with her mother at a YMCA in North Kansas City. It also mentions a 2022 incident where a 17-year-old girl claimed she saw a transgender woman changing in a women's locker room at a California YMCA. "Perhaps most concerning is not what is known of the YMCA's gender policies, but what is yet unknown. In recent weeks, the YMCA has either restricted access to the portions of its website that deal with gender policies or has taken down those pages altogether," the letter claims. "By no means should one expect that the YMCA is changing its gender policies; rather, the YMCA is shielding those policies and future policies from public scrutiny." The letter also highlights Trump's Jan. 20 executive order banning the use of federal funds to promote gender ideology. Fox News Digital reached out to the Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Education, as well as the YMCA for comment.
Fox News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Social media giant hit with scathing ad campaign amid anger over AI chatbots sexually exploiting kids
A nonprofit parents coalition is calling on multiple congressional committees to launch an investigation into Meta for prioritizing engagement metrics that put children's safety at risk. The call is part of a three-pronged attack campaign by the American Parents Coalition (APC), launched Thursday. It includes a letter to lawmakers with calls for investigations, a new parental notification system to help parents stay informed on issues impacting their kids at Meta and beyond, and mobile billboards at Meta D.C. and California headquarters, calling out the company for failure to adequately prioritize protecting children. APC's campaign follows an April Wall Street Journal report that included an investigation looking into how the company's metrics focus has led to potential harms for children. "This is not the first time Meta has been caught making tech available to kids that exposes them to inappropriate content," APC Executive Director Alleigh Marre said. "Parents across America should be extremely wary of their children's online activity, especially when it involves emerging technology like AI digital companions. This pattern of bad behavior from Meta shows they cannot be trusted to self-correct, and we are urging Congress to take meaningful action in holding Meta accountable for not prioritizing child safety." The April Wall Street Journal investigation not only reported on internal concerns that Meta was skirting ethical lines to make its AI chatbot system more advanced, but also shared how the report's authors tested out the system themselves. The reporters' test conversations found that Meta's AI chatbot systems engaged and sometimes escalated sexual discussions – even when the chatbot knew the user was underage. The investigation found that the AI chatbot could also be programmed to simulate a minor's persona while engaging with the end-user in a sexually explicit conversation. In some instances, the test conversations were able to get Meta's chatbot to speak about romantic encounters in the voice of Disney movie characters. "The reporting referenced in this letter doesn't reflect how people actually experience these AIs, which for teens is often in valuable ways, like helping with homework and learning new skills," a Meta spokesperson told Fox News Digital in response to the campaign. "We recognize parents' concerns about these new technologies, which is why we've put additional age-appropriate guardrails in place that allow parents to see if their teens have been chatting with AIs, and to place time limits on our apps. Importantly, we don't allow AIs to present as under 18s and we prohibit sexually explicit conversations with teens." Per the Journal's reporting, which Meta contests, the company made multiple internal decisions to loosen guardrails around its chatbots to make them as engaging as possible. Meta reportedly made an exemption to allow "explicit" content within its chatbot as long as it is in the content of romantic role playing. At the same time, Meta has taken steps to help improve its product safety for minor users, such as the introduction of Instagram's "Teen Accounts" with built-in safety protections that came out in 2024 amid increased scrutiny over the company's AI. In April, Meta announced the expansion of these accounts to Facebook and Messenger. On these accounts, minors are prohibited from conversations about sexually explicit content with chatbots. Meta also has parental supervision tools built into its AI chatbot system that are supposed to show parents whom their kids are talking to on a regular basis, including chatbot, and has tools to shut down accounts exhibiting potential suspicious behavior tied to child sexual exploitation. Coinciding with APC's campaign attacking Meta, the group launched a new website titled " with links to APC's letter to members of Congress, images of the mobile billboards they are deploying, a link to the new "lookout" notification system, and recent articles about Meta's work pertaining to children's safety.
