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The UAE Cabinet has approved a resolution establishing 15 as the minimum age for the creation or operation of personal social media accounts, with the prohibition extending to all related activities such as posting, commenting, sharing content and participating in public groups or channels. Cabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2026 explicitly states that parental consent cannot override the restriction for those below the threshold. The measure applies across all platforms that operate in or serve users within the country and forms part of a broader framework to shield minors from potential digital harms.
According to the resolution, individuals who have reached 15 but remain under 16 may access platforms only under enhanced protective measures that include age-appropriate content curation, limits on interactions with unknown users, screen-time restrictions and mandatory parental oversight tools. Platforms are required to deploy reliable age-verification technologies, incorporating the national UAE Pass system that relies on biometric facial recognition combined with artificial intelligence estimation techniques. Oversight of these requirements falls to the Child Digital Safety Council created under prior legislation.
The resolution provides social media companies with a 12-month period to achieve compliance after official publication, after which failures to meet the standards could result in administrative penalties, partial blocking of services or outright exclusion from the UAE market. This grace period accounts for the technical changes needed to move beyond simple self-declared age inputs that many platforms currently employ. The rules also mandate ongoing obligations for platforms to prevent under-age account creation and to restrict full-feature access for younger users.
World Health Organization data shows that the share of adolescents exhibiting problematic social media use climbed from 7 percent in 2018 to 11 percent in 2022, frequently accompanied by diminished mental and social well-being, disrupted sleep patterns and elevated substance-use risks. The United States Surgeon General has reported that young people devoting more than three hours daily to social media face twice the likelihood of experiencing depression and anxiety symptoms, findings echoed in research on Arab youth that associates heavy platform engagement with anxiety, academic setbacks and emotional difficulties. The new UAE rules extend the Federal Decree-Law on Child Digital Safety passed in 2025, which initially established foundational protections for minors online.
The UAE has become the first Arab nation to institute such a prohibition, aligning with an expanding international trend that includes Australia’s 2025 nationwide ban on social media for those under 16. An OECD assessment found that 25 member and accession economies have now placed age restrictions in force, enacted or under active consideration, up markedly from 2023 levels. Several European governments and US states have advanced comparable initiatives in response to similar concerns about youth exposure.
Al Tamimi & Company detailed in its legal update that the resolution places duties on platforms, regulators and caregivers alike to cultivate a safer digital environment while permitting supervised engagement with non-personal educational or creative content for younger children. The firm noted that the framework introduces a classification system for platforms to apply tailored safeguards according to age brackets under 18. Successful rollout will hinge on collaboration among technology providers, authorities and families to balance protection with constructive digital participation.
