Pinterest CEO says teenagers below 16 ought to be banned from social media (however not Pinterest)

Pinterest’s CEO has thrown his help behind an Australia measure banning social media for youthful teenagers and is looking for governments all over the world to implement related bans. “Social media, because it’s configured immediately, is just not protected for younger folks below 16,” Prepared writes in a chunk published by Time. “We want a transparent commonplace: no social media for teenagers below 16, backed by actual enforcement, and accountability for cell phone working methods and the apps that run on them.”

Prepared is likely one of the highest-profile tech CEOs to return out in favor of a broad ban on social media for teenagers. Which will additionally look like a daring stance for somebody who runs a platform with a consumer base that is greater than 50 p.c Gen Z, however Prepared would not suppose that ban ought to apply to Pinterest. Pinterest, as he notes, already bars teenagers below 16 from accessing messaging options and different social options. It additionally makes teen accounts personal by default.

A spokesperson for Pinterest confirmed the corporate has no plans to alter its personal insurance policies relating to customers below 16, and mentioned Pinterest considers itself a “visible search platform” not social media. Pinterest, like most social media and social media-adjacent firms, would not enable customers below 13 to enroll.

Social media or not, Pinterest has encountered youngster safety-related points prior to now. In 2023, NBC Information reported that Pinterest’s recommendation algorithm was surfacing images and movies of younger women to adults who had been “looking for” such content material. A few of these customers had created Pinterest boards that includes photos of younger women with titles like “horny little women,” their investigation discovered. The corporate made profiles for teenagers below 16 personal and “not discoverable” six months later.

In response to Prepared, Pinterest’s recognition with youthful customers is proof its insurance policies are additionally good for the corporate’s enterprise. “Our expertise exhibits that prioritizing security and well-being doesn’t push younger folks away; it builds belief,” he writes.