Pinterest CEO calls for ban on social media for youth under 16

Bill Ready pointed to Australia’s social media ban for under-16s as a model, though it does not apply to his company Pinterest’s CEO called on world leaders to ban social media for youth under 16 in a LinkedIn post on Friday. “We need a clear standard: no social media for teens under 16, backed by real enforcement, and accountability for mobile phone operating systems and the apps that run on them,” Bill Ready wrote. Pinterest, an image-sharing platform, has seen a surge in young users over the past year but has disappointed Wall Street with its quarterly financial reports of late. Ready pointed to Australia’s ban on social media for youth under 16 as a model. A company spokesperson declined to comment on the post and whether the CEO believes the company’s site or app would be included in the ban. Users must be 13 to sign up for a Pinterest account in the US, according to the company’s website. Under the terms of Australia’s ban, teens under 16 are allowed to create Pinterest accounts, giving the company a regulatory edge over larger rivals like Instagram when recruiting younger users. Ready posted his statement while a trial is under way in Los Angeles about youth social media use