UAE Imposes Social Media Ban for Children Under 15

The United Arab Emirates has enacted a sweeping cabinet resolution banning children under the age of 15 from creating or operating personal social media accounts. The move makes the UAE the first nation in the Arab world to implement such a restriction, aligning it with an accelerating global regulatory crackdown on youth internet usage.

Under the new policy framework, social media platforms are legally required to monitor, identify, and disable accounts held by users under 15. The tech companies have been granted a 12-month transition period to implement effective age-verification systems. Failure to comply could result in severe administrative penalties, including partial or permanent blocks on their services within the country.

According to the official state news agency, WAM, the law completely prohibits children below the target age from accessing interactive features such as posting, commenting, sharing content, joining public groups, or participating in large-scale digital spaces. For adolescents aged 15 and 16, social media access is permitted but remains subject to strict protective filters, including automated content restrictions and mandatory daily usage limits.

The resolution also places significant responsibility on parents and guardians, stating explicitly that parental consent cannot be used as an exemption to bypass the legal age limit.

The UAE joins a growing list of countries aggressively regulating social media for minors due to mounting concerns over cyberbullying, addictive algorithms, online predators, and the impact of screen time on adolescent mental health. Australia initiated a ban for under-16s late last year, while the United Kingdom, Canada, Malaysia, and Turkey have introduced similar age-gating or safety measures.

While proponents praise the resolution as a major milestone for digital child protection, critics globally continue to question the technical feasibility of age-verification tools and warn that total bans might inadvertently drive underage users toward unmonitored spaces on the dark web.