LinkedIn (LNKD.DL) announced today that it is lowering its minimum user age to 13 to coincide with the launch of new University Pages.
LinkedIn's legal head, Eric Heath, penned a blog post on the opportunities awaiting LinkedIn's youngest members:
Smart, ambitious students are already thinking about their futures when they step foot into high school -- where they want to go to college, what they want to study, where they want to live and work. We want to encourage these students to leverage the insights and connections of the millions of successful professionals on LinkedIn, so they can make the most informed decisions and start their careers off right.
The minimum age requirements will differ by country to stay in line with regulations. In the U.S., children will have to be 14 before joining LinkedIn. The minimum age will be 14 in the U.S., Canada, Germany, Spain, Australia, and South Korea. It will be 16 in the Netherlands, 18 in China, and 13 in all other countries, LinkedIn said.
For those teens with access, the company's new University Pages are designed to allow students to ask questions of current students and alumni, virtually explore campuses, research eventual career opportunities, and start to build networks for university and beyond.
Two hundred universities have already begun to make changes to their pages in preparation for LinkedIn's age unlock on Sept. 12, the company said.
LinkedIn said minors will have different default privacy settings to limit what's publicly viewable on their profiles and to limit unwanted communications.
