The 14-year-old SpaceX engineer whose story went viral is now at odds with LinkedIn as it has blocked his account due to his age. The tech prodigy Kairan Quazi, who defied age barriers both in college and at Elon Musk’s SpaceX, recently took to Instagram to express his disappointment that he won’t be able to continue using the professional networking site. Quazi, who recently graduated from Santa Clara University as the youngest grad in the school’s history, will move to Washington state with his mom to start working on SpaceX’s Starlink engineering team as a software engineer.
However, in an Instagram post on Sunday, the prodigy revealed that the platform had restricted his LinkedIn account as he was too young for the job-search site. The site’s terms of service state that users must be at least 16 years old to use the platform.
In the caption of his Instagram post, he shared a screenshot of a message from LinkedIn stating that his profile had been restricted as it did not meet the minimum age requirements. The company stated that he could rejoin the platform once he turned 16.
Quazi’s post has received significant backlash, with people calling on the platform to change its policies on age restrictions. One user wrote, “It’s unfortunate that the site blocks someone for their age. I hope they reconsider their policies!”
Another person wrote, “You are an inspiration to all of us, and you’re not even 16. It’s illogical, primitive nonsense that the site restricts someone like you for your age.”
In a reply on his Instagram, Quazi posted a photo of himself holding a letter from LinkedIn that read, “Hi Kairan, your LinkedIn profile has been restricted because it does not comply with our minimum age requirement of 16 years old. We will be reactivating your account as soon as you turn 16.” The letter also mentioned that the site would be providing a refund for his premium membership.
