Pinterest Ceo Says Teens Under 16 Should Be Banned From Social Media (but Not Pinterest)

Pinterest's CEO has thrown his support down an Australia measurement banning societal media for younger teens and is calling for governments astir nan world to instrumentality akin bans. "Social media, arsenic it’s configured today, is not safe for young group nether 16," Ready writes successful a portion published by Time. "We request a clear standard: nary societal media for teens nether 16, backed by existent enforcement, and accountability for mobile telephone operating systems and nan apps that tally connected them."

Ready is 1 of nan highest-profile tech CEOs to travel retired successful favour of a wide prohibition connected societal media for teens. That whitethorn besides look for illustration a bold stance for personification who runs a level pinch a personification guidelines that's much than 50 percent Gen Z, but Ready doesn't deliberation that prohibition should use to Pinterest. Pinterest, arsenic he notes, already bars teens nether 16 from accessing messaging features and different societal features. It besides makes teen accounts backstage by default.

A spokesperson for Pinterest confirmed nan institution has nary plans to alteration its ain policies regarding users nether 16, and said Pinterest considers itself a "visual hunt platform" not societal media. Pinterest, for illustration astir societal media and societal media-adjacent companies, doesn't let users nether 13 to motion up.

Social media aliases not, Pinterest has encountered kid safety-related issues successful nan past. In 2023, NBC News reported that Pinterest's recommendation algorithm was surfacing photos and videos of young girls to adults who were "seeking" specified content. Some of those users had created Pinterest boards featuring images of young girls pinch titles for illustration "sexy small girls," their investigation found. The institution made profiles for teens nether 16 backstage and "not discoverable" six months later.

According to Ready, Pinterest's fame pinch younger users is impervious its policies are besides bully for nan company's business. "Our acquisition shows that prioritizing information and well-being doesn’t push young group away; it builds trust," he writes.