The United Arab Emirates has banned children under the age of 15 from using social media platforms, making it the first Arab country to implement such strict digital age restrictions.
The sweeping measure, approved by the UAE Cabinet and announced by the state news agency WAM on Thursday, targets the mounting risks young users face online. Government officials cited growing concerns over exposure to inappropriate content, predatory or unsafe interactions, algorithmic data exploitation, and the psychological impacts of excessive screen time as the primary drivers behind the legislation, News.Az reports, citing Anadolu Agency.
The new rules apply to any free or paid social media service operating in or targeting users within the UAE—specifically platforms that allow profile creation, public interactions, content sharing, or use automated algorithms to recommend feeds. Under the law, children under 15 are strictly prohibited from creating or operating personal accounts. They are also entirely barred from standard features like commenting, joining public groups, or participating in large-scale interactive spaces.
To enforce the ban, tech companies are being ordered to deploy robust, reliable age-verification mechanisms, such as government-linked digital identity systems or AI-powered age-gating technologies. Social media giants must also immediately identify and scrub existing accounts belonging to users under 15, taking active technical steps to prevent children from circumventing the block.
Regulators are not taking compliance lightly. The National Media Office alongside the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority will oversee the rollout. While platforms have been granted a 12-month grace period to align their systems with the new law, noncompliance will face progressive penalties, ranging from formal warnings to heavy administrative fines and full platform blocking within the country.
The policy shift is set to disrupt a heavily connected population. According to recent digital market reports, the UAE boasts a near-perfect 99% internet penetration rate, with roughly 12.5 million active social media profiles across the country. The landmark move sets a major regulatory precedent in the Middle East, arriving just as other regional neighbors like Egypt consider advancing similar digital child protection laws.