This paper argues that the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) on digital platforms raises serious questions about privacy, autonomy, and data protection for young people. While AI-based personalized services offer enhanced user experiences, they often operate without clear ethical boundaries, leaving young people vulnerable to data exploitation and algorithmic bias. This paper therefore argues for a structural framework that ensures youth-centered privacy protections, transparent data practices, and regulatory oversight, and presents a call to action for ethical AI governance. It identifies key areas requiring urgent intervention, including algorithmic transparency, privacy education, parental data sharing ethics, and responsible action, to empower young people to take greater control of their digital identities, and proposes actionable strategies for policymakers, AI developers, and educators to build a more just and responsible AI ecosystem.