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

## Summary
Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP via Getty Images View image in fullscreen Bill Ready, CEO of Pinterest, in Beverly Hills, California, on 5 May 2025. Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP via Getty Images 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. Read more Ready pointed to Australia’s ban on social media for youth under 16 as a model. 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.

## Article Content
Bill Ready, CEO of Pinterest, in Beverly Hills, California, on 5 May 2025.
Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
View image in fullscreen
Bill Ready, CEO of Pinterest, in Beverly Hills, California, on 5 May 2025.
Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
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.
Three months into Australia’s world-first social media ban for under-16s, has it been a success?
Read more
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.
Google
and Meta face allegations that their apps are intentionally designed to addict the very young and are fueling a youth mental health crisis. The jury is deliberating on a verdict.
In calling for the ban, Ready is taking a different position than the leaders of the world’s largest technology companies. Those companies are facing growing pressure from regulators, courts, and lawmakers to change how children and teens use their products because of their mental health impacts.
The company in recent years has tried to position itself as a go-to site for gen Z members, broadly defined as people born between 1997 and 2012. A third of Pinterest’s users are ages 17-25, according to Apptopia, a research firm.
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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- Three months into Australia’s world-first social media ban for under-16s, has it been a success?

### Areas for Consideration
N/A

### Implications
- Bill Ready, CEO of Pinterest, in Beverly Hills, California, on 5 May 2025.
- Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP via Getty Images View image in fullscreen Bill Ready, CEO of Pinterest, in Beverly Hills, California, on 5 May 2025.
- Those companies are facing growing pressure from regulators, courts, and lawmakers to change how children and teens use their products because of their mental health impacts.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers social, media, pinterest topics. Notable strengths include discussion of social. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 422.