UAE sets 15 as minimum age for social media use under new rules

The UAE Cabinet, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has issued a resolution regulating children's access to social media platforms.

The resolution reflects the UAE's commitment to establishing an advanced model for child protection in the digital space, reinforcing the national digital safety framework in line with the rapid evolution of technology use, and striking a balance between enabling responsible use of modern technologies and ensuring the highest standards of child protection.

The resolution comes amid the growing use of social media platforms by children and the increasing digital challenges and risks associated with such use, including exposure to inappropriate content, unsafe interactions, the collection of personal data, and patterns of excessive usage.

This necessitates the development of an integrated national framework that enables children to benefit from technology while ensuring their protection in the digital environment, and reflects the UAE’s proactive approach in developing advanced legislative models that keep pace with global digital transformations and place child safety among its priorities.

The resolution forms part of an integrated legislative framework encompassing the Child Rights Law, legislation on combating cybercrimes, personal data protection, media regulation, and child digital safety, thereby reinforcing institutional integration and entrenching a proactive and comprehensive approach to child protection in the digital environment.

The resolution applies to all social media platforms that enable users to create accounts or personal profiles, engage in social interaction, publish or share content, or that rely on algorithmic systems to display, rank, or recommend content, whether free or paid. It applies to all platforms whose services are available within the UAE or are directed at users in the country.

The resolution sets the minimum age for social media use at 15 years. Children below this age are prohibited from creating, using, or operating personal accounts on social media platforms, and are prohibited from accessing the full features of such platforms, including social interaction, publishing, commenting, sharing, joining public groups, open channels, or any large-scale interactive spaces.

Platforms are required to implement all necessary technical and administrative measures to enforce this prohibition. The resolution also takes into account the gradual transition toward healthier and more balanced digital habits, in a manner that aligns with the different age groups of children and adolescents.

Children between the ages of 15 and 16 are permitted to use social media platforms, subject to enhanced protective measures applied to their accounts.

These measures include age-appropriate content classification and restriction, disabling high-risk features such as interaction with unknown users, regulation of usage time and duration, and the provision of parental control tools, ensuring a safe digital environment appropriate to their age.

The resolution explicitly provides that parental consent shall not constitute a valid exemption from the prohibitions or restrictions set out therein. It further permits the child caregiver to configure the settings of accounts belonging to children between the ages of 15 and 16, through the parental control tools provided by social media platforms, provided that such configuration does not contravene the prescribed prohibitions and restrictions.

Platforms are required to implement effective and reliable age verification mechanisms, including digital identity verification, AI-supported technologies such as biometric tools, or any other mechanisms approved by the Child Digital Safety Council.

Self-declaration of age shall not be accepted as a valid method of verification. Platforms must ensure that the mechanisms used achieve a high level of accuracy in determining user age, while adhering to the highest standards of child privacy and personal data protection. This includes minimising data collection, securing data processing, and ensuring data is not retained beyond the period strictly necessary.

Verification mechanisms must be subject to regular review and audit, and clear information must be provided to users on how they operate, in order to promote trust and transparency in the digital environment.

All social media platforms, whose services are available within the UAE or are directed at users in the country, are required to monitor personal accounts created by children under the age of 15 in violation of the resolution's provisions, and to take immediate action to suspend or disable such accounts.

Platforms must also implement the necessary technical and administrative measures to prevent circumvention of their systems, refrain from targeting children with personalised advertising based on tracking or behavioural profiling, and from exploiting or processing their personal data for commercial purposes that depend on monitoring or tracking their digital activities.

Platforms must provide parental control tools and awareness materials for children and their caregivers, conduct periodic child digital safety risk assessments, and submit regular reports to the competent authorities. Thereby positioning platforms as strategic partners and reinforces their shared responsibility in safeguarding and protecting children.

The resolution affirms the responsibilities of the child's caregiver, which include refraining from enabling the child to use platforms in violation of the resolution's provisions, refraining from circumventing age verification mechanisms, exercising effective supervision over the child's permitted digital activity, and promoting the child's awareness of digital risks and safe usage practices.

The resolution provides families with a clear framework and practical tools to help guide children toward more responsible, balanced, and mindful digital engagement.

Oversight and supervision of platforms' compliance with the obligations, controls, and standards set out in the resolution are assigned to the National Media Authority, the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority, each within its respective jurisdiction, with authority to take all necessary measures in the event of non-compliance, including warning or partial or full blocking of platforms or the imposition of applicable administrative penalties while observing graduated enforcement.

The Child Digital Safety Council shall assess the risks and impacts associated with children's access to social media platforms, and propose the necessary measures to address and mitigate them in coordination with the relevant federal and local authorities. The Council shall ensure the effective implementation of the resolution and the continuous development of the child digital safety framework.

Social media platforms are granted a transitional period of up to 12 months to bring their operations into compliance with the resolution's provisions, while ensuring effective communication and coordination with the competent authorities during this transitional period to ensure technical and regulatory readiness.

The resolution is closely aligned with leading global trends in digital child protection and establishes a forward-looking model that effectively combines digital safety, family empowerment, platform responsibility, and practical enforceability, thereby advancing the UAE's transition to a new phase of digital space regulation, founded on proactive legislation, institutional integration, and a balanced approach between innovation and protection.

It reinforces the UAE's position as a leading global model in child protection and digital safety, and reflects the country's enduring commitment to building a safe and sustainable digital society.

WAM