The UAE Cabinet has issued a new resolution regulating children’s access to social media platforms, setting the minimum age for social media use at 15 years and requiring platforms to implement stricter age-verification measures.
The resolution, issued under the chairmanship of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, aims to strengthen child protection in the digital environment while allowing responsible use of technology.
Under the new rules, children below 15 years are prohibited from creating, using or operating personal accounts on social media platforms. They are also barred from accessing the full interactive features of such platforms, including posting content, commenting, sharing, joining public groups and participating in large-scale interactive spaces.
Children aged 15 and 16 may use social media platforms, but their accounts must be subject to enhanced safeguards, including age-appropriate content restrictions, limits on interactions with unknown users, usage-time controls and parental-control tools.
The resolution states that parental consent cannot be used to bypass these restrictions. However, caregivers may configure the settings of accounts belonging to children aged 15 to 16 through parental-control tools provided by platforms.
Social media companies operating in or targeting users in the UAE will be required to introduce reliable age-verification systems. These may include digital identity checks, AI-supported technologies such as biometric tools or other mechanisms approved by the Child Digital Safety Council.
The resolution specifically states that “Self-declaration of age shall not be accepted as a valid method of verification.”
Platforms must also identify and suspend accounts created by children under 15 in violation of the rules, prevent users from circumventing age checks and avoid targeting children with personalised advertising based on tracking or behavioural profiling.
In addition, companies will be required to provide parental-control tools, publish awareness materials for families, conduct periodic child digital safety risk assessments and submit regular compliance reports to authorities.
The resolution assigns oversight responsibilities to the National Media Authority and the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority, which may issue warnings, impose administrative penalties or partially or fully block non-compliant platforms.
The Child Digital Safety Council will monitor risks associated with children’s access to social media and recommend further measures in coordination with federal and local authorities.
Platforms have been given a transition period of up to 12 months to comply with the new regulations.
The UAE government said the move is intended to create a balanced framework that combines digital safety, family empowerment and platform responsibility while keeping pace with global developments in child protection online.
