CEO of Pinterest (a US technology company, operating a social network for sharing images and ideas) - Mr. Bill Ready - has just attracted attention when calling for banning teenagers under 16 years old from using social networks.
The proposal was made in the context that major technology platforms are facing increasing pressure related to the mental health of young people.
In a post on LinkedIn, Mr. Bill Ready emphasized the need to establish a clear standard on a global scale.
Accordingly, children under 16 years old should be banned from using social networks, accompanied by strict enforcement mechanisms and accountability from both mobile operating systems and applications.
We need a clear standard on banning social media for teenagers under 16," Ready wrote, while calling on leaders to take stronger action.
This statement was made at a sensitive time, when a court in Los Angeles is considering the role of technology platforms in the mental health of teenagers.
Big names like Google and Meta are currently facing accusations that their products are contributing to exacerbating the psychological crisis among young people.
Notably, Pinterest CEO's view goes against the popular stance of many technology leaders, who often oppose comprehensive bans. Instead, they prioritize solutions such as content control or strengthening user protection tools.
Currently, according to Pinterest regulations, users in the US must be 13 years of age or older to register an account. This is also a common limit on many other social networking platforms. However, Mr. Ready believes that this threshold is not enough to protect teenagers from negative impacts.
He also cited Australia's model, which is implementing strong measures to limit children's access to social networks, as a direction that needs to be considered for expansion.
In recent years, Pinterest has made efforts to reposition itself to attract the "generation Z", which is a group of young users born from 1997 to 2012.
According to data from market research company Apptopia (headquartered in Boston, USA), about 1/3 of users of this platform are between 17 and 25 years old.
Therefore, CEO Bill Ready's statement attracted even more attention, as it seemed to go against the company's strategy of approaching young users.
The debate about the age of social media use is predicted to continue, as governments, legislators and technology businesses must find ways to balance technology access rights and protect the mental health of the younger generation.
