With rising concerns over the impact of social media on teenagers, Pinterest CEO Bill Ready has called on governments worldwide to impose a ban on users under the age of 16. He warned that current platforms are harming young people\u2019s mental health and development, urging authorities to introduce strict and enforceable rules instead of relying on tech companies\u2019 self-regulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his opinion article published in Time magazine, Ready said today\u2019s teenagers are part of the ‘largest social experiment in history,’ with years of unrestricted access to digital platforms leading to increased anxiety, depression, and difficulty in focusing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bill Ready is the Chief Executive Officer of Pinterest, a global visual discovery platform. He took over as CEO in 2022 and has since focused on transforming the company into a more commerce-driven platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before joining Pinterest, Ready held key leadership roles in major tech companies. He served as President of Commerce at Google, where he worked on payments and shopping products. Prior to that, he was the Chief Operating Officer at PayPal, playing a major role in expanding its global payments business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With decades of experience in the tech and financial sectors, Ready is known for his expertise in digital payments, e-commerce and platform growth. While his exact net worth is not publicly confirmed, it is estimated to be in the multi-million dollar range, given his senior roles at top global companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ready stressed that governments must create clear and uniform rules to protect children from the harmful effects of social media. He said these regulations should be easy to implement worldwide and not vary from country to country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also urged policymakers to ensure that both smartphone makers and app developers share responsibility for enforcing these rules, especially when it comes to restricting access for underage users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Along with social media, Ready also raised concerns about the growing use of AI technologies like chatbots on these platforms. He warned that such tools could further increase risks for teenagers by influencing their behaviour and emotions during a critical stage of development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He emphasised that without proper regulation, these technologies could deepen the negative impact on young users, making the need for action even more urgent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pinterest CEO Bill Ready has urged governments worldwide to ban social media for users under 16, citing risks to teenagers\u2019 mental health and development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3299,"featured_media":781603,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","short_title":"","seo-keywords":"","news-seo-keywords":"pinterest ceo social media ban under 16, pinterest ceo calls for social media ban for under 16, social media ban under 16, Pinterest CEO Bill Ready, Bill Ready social media ban, teens social media risks, social media mental health teens, global social media regulations, under 16 social media policy, Australia social media ban teens, tech CEO warning social media, AI chatbot risks teenagers, social media addiction teens, government rules social media kids, teen depression social media, digital safety for children, global tech regulation news","author-reported-field":"3299","author-review-field":null,"article-sources-field":"","byline_field":"","survey_poll":"","ai_generated_summary":"{\"classification\":{\"archetype\":\"POLITICS\",\"sub_type\":\"Regulation\",\"urgency_score\":8},\"primary_label\":\"Pinterest CEO's Call for Social Media Regulation\",\"primary_data\":[\"Pinterest CEO Bill Ready advocates for a global ban on social media access for users under 16.\",\"Ready argues that current platforms negatively impact young people's mental health and development.\",\"He published an opinion article in Time magazine, describing teenagers' digital access as the 'largest social experiment in history'.\",\"Ready also warned about the potential risks of AI technologies, like chatbots, on teenagers.\"],\"secondary_label\":\"Proposed Regulatory Measures\",\"secondary_data\":[\"Ready urges governments to implement strict, enforceable, and uniform rules globally, rather than relying on self-regulation by tech companies.\"]}","faq-group":{"faq-question_1":"","faq-description_1":"","faq-question_2":"","faq-description_2":"","faq-question_3":"","faq-description_3":"","faq-question_4":"","faq-description_4":"","faq-question_5":"","faq-description_5":""}},"categories":[137],"tags":[4529],"class_list":["post-781602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech","tag-social-media"],"recipe-group":{"preparation_time":"","total_cooking_time":"","recipe_yield":"","recipe_cuisine":"","recipe_rating_value":"","recipe_servingsize":"","recipe_calories":"","recipe_ingredients":"","recipe_instructions_head_1":"","recipe-instructions_1":"","recipe_instructions_head_2":"","recipe-instructions_2":"","recipe_instructions_head_3":"","recipe-instructions_3":"","recipe_instructions_head_4":"","recipe-instructions_4":"","recipe_instructions_head_5":"","recipe-instructions_5":"","recipe_instructions_head_6":"","recipe-instructions_6":""},"embed-url-group":{"embed-url":"","embed-duration":""},"yoast_head":"\n