First Arab nation to impose strict age limits; platforms face complete blocking for non-compliance with the new resolution.
ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates has officially banned children under the age of 15 from creating, using, or operating personal accounts on all social media platforms. The landmark decision, enacted via a UAE Cabinet resolution chaired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, establishes the UAE as the first Arab nation to enforce a strict age-based restriction on digital networks.
Under the newly issued regulations, tech companies operating within the Emirates have been given a mandatory 12-month transition period to align their technical systems with the new law. Social media platforms that fail to actively monitor, identify, and disable accounts held by children under 15 face severe penalties, including official warnings, administrative fines, or partial to absolute blocking within the country.
The restriction extends far beyond basic profile registration. The resolution explicitly prohibits children under 15 from accessing full platform features, effectively barring them from social interactions, publishing original posts, commenting, sharing media, and joining public groups or large-scale interactive digital spaces. Furthermore, the Cabinet made it clear that explicit parental consent cannot be used as an exemption to bypass these age restrictions.
For adolescents aged between 15 and 16, the law permits regulated access. However, tech platforms must apply advanced safeguards to these accounts, such as age-appropriate content filters, restrictions on high-risk features, strict controls over interactions with unverified users, screen-time limitations, and robust parental supervision tools.
To prevent underage users from simply misrepresenting their birth dates, the resolution bans self-declaration as a valid age check. Platforms are legally mandated to deploy highly accurate verification systems approved by the Child Digital Safety Council, such as AI-backed biometrics or integrated official digital identity tracking. This policy aligns with global legislative trends, following similar age-gate crackdowns implemented by nations like Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada to combat cyberbullying and protect children’s mental well-being.
