UAE child digital safety age verification social media minimum age 15

UAE child digital safety age verification social media minimum age 15

Age Verification vs Privacy: The UAE's New Approach to Child Digital Safety

26 October 2026

Quick answer: Since June 2026, UAE platforms must verify that social media users are at least 15, using methods that are accurate and privacy-conscious rather than collecting more personal data than necessary. Under-13s' personal data is off-limits for commercial use entirely, and platforms have up to 12 months to come into compliance.

Introduction

The UAE is taking a significant step towards strengthening the protection of children in the digital environment. Following the enactment of Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2025 Regarding Child Digital Safety, which entered into force on 1 January 2026, the UAE Cabinet adopted Cabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2026 Regarding the Regulation of Children's Access to Social Media Platforms in June 2026.
Together, these measures establish a comprehensive framework addressing how children access digital platforms, how platforms should verify users' ages, and how children's personal data should be protected. The developments are particularly significant for social media platforms and other digital businesses operating in, or targeting users in, the UAE.
The central question is no longer simply whether children should be protected online. It is increasingly about how platforms can achieve effective protection while respecting children's privacy and data-protection rights.

A Broader Framework for Child Digital Safety

Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2025 establishes a broad regulatory framework covering digital platforms and internet service providers operating in the UAE or directed towards users in the UAE. Its scope extends beyond social media to include websites, search engines, messaging applications, online gaming platforms, live-streaming services, streaming and video-on-demand platforms, podcasts and e-commerce platforms.
The legislation introduces a risk-based approach under which digital platforms are to be classified according to factors including their type, content, usage and potential impact on children. This classification is intended to determine the appropriate age groups, age-verification mechanisms and obligations applicable to different platforms.
The Decree-Law also establishes the Child Digital Safety Council, which is responsible for supporting coordination between relevant authorities and the private sector, proposing policies and strategies, and monitoring emerging digital risks affecting children.
The framework therefore moves beyond a purely reactive approach to online harm. It places preventive obligations on digital platforms and other actors involved in children's online experiences.

Key Aspects at a Glance

A Minimum Age of 15 for Personal Social Media Accounts

The most prominent recent development is Cabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2026, which establishes 15 as the minimum age for creating, using or operating a personal social media account.
Under the Resolution, children under 15 may not create or operate personal accounts or access the full range of social-media functions, including social interaction, posting, commenting, sharing and participation in public or open interactive spaces.
The framework takes a more graduated approach for users aged 15 to under 16. Social-media access remains possible, but is subject to enhanced safeguards, including stronger content controls, restrictions on certain interactions and additional parental and usage-management tools.
Importantly, parental consent does not simply override the restriction applicable to children under 15. The Resolution places primary compliance obligations on platforms, while also establishing responsibilities for caregivers not to facilitate circumvention of the applicable rules.
The Resolution is accompanied by a transition period of up to 12 months for platforms to bring their systems and operations into compliance. The new social-media requirements are therefore particularly relevant to businesses during the current preparation period.

Age Verification: Protection or a New Privacy Challenge?

Perhaps the most consequential aspect of the new framework is the requirement for platforms to establish effective age-verification mechanisms.
Simple self-declaration of age is not sufficient under the new social-media framework. Depending on the applicable requirements, age verification may involve digital identity verification, identification documents, biometric technologies or AI-supported age estimation.
Where AI-supported age estimation is used, the same governance questions apply as to any AI-assisted decision affecting individuals in the UAE, including human oversight and accountability for the outcome. See our guide to the UAE AI Charter and what it means for AI governance for the broader principles that apply.
This creates an important legal tension. A platform may need enough information to determine whether a user may access a service, while also avoiding unnecessary collection or retention of personal information.
The UAE framework expressly recognises this concern. The Ministry of Family states that age-verification mechanisms should be accurate, proportionate, privacy-conscious and limited to the minimum data necessary. The legislation therefore does not treat age verification as an unrestricted licence to collect additional personal information.
For digital businesses, this means that the question is not simply whether an age-verification system exists. Businesses must also consider whether the mechanism is proportionate to the risks involved, what information it collects, how it processes and retains that information, and whether the system itself creates additional privacy or cybersecurity risks.

Children's Personal Data and Targeted Advertising

Privacy protection is also a central component of the UAE's broader Child Digital Safety framework.
Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2025 prohibits digital platforms from collecting, processing, publishing or sharing the personal data of children under 13, subject to specified conditions and exceptions. The framework also addresses the use of children's data for commercial purposes and targeted advertising.
Cabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2026 goes further in relation to social media platforms by prohibiting the targeting of children through directed advertising based on tracking and behavioural profiling, as well as the exploitation or processing of children's personal data for commercial purposes based on their digital activity.
There is, however, an important distinction between prohibited commercial profiling and processing that is necessary to protect children. The Resolution permits algorithmic processing where it is necessary for purposes such as digital safety, preventing exposure to harmful or age-inappropriate content, and providing contextual advertising that does not rely on profiling or intrusive processing.
This distinction will be particularly relevant for platforms that rely heavily on recommendation algorithms, personalised advertising or behavioural analytics. Businesses will need to assess carefully whether their existing data practices remain compatible with the new requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions: UAE Child Digital Safety

What is the minimum age for a social media account in the UAE?

15. Children under 15 cannot create or operate a personal social media account under Cabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2026. Users aged 15 to under 16 get access but with enhanced safeguards.

Can parents consent to let a child under 15 use social media?

No. Parental consent does not override the age-15 restriction. The obligation to enforce it sits primarily with platforms, not parents.

Is self-declared age enough for UAE age verification?

No. Platforms must use verification methods such as digital identity checks, ID documents, biometrics or AI-based age estimation, not a simple checkbox.

Can platforms collect a child's personal data for advertising?

Generally no. Under-13 data collection is prohibited with limited exceptions, and Cabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2026 separately bans targeted advertising to children based on tracking or behavioural profiling.

How long do platforms have to comply?

Up to 12 months from the June 2026 Cabinet Resolution, giving platforms a defined transition period to adjust systems and operations.

Beyond Age Restrictions: Safety by Design

The UAE framework is not limited to determining who can access a platform. Digital platforms are also expected to incorporate safety mechanisms into their products and services.
These include privacy settings enabled by default, parental-control tools, age-based content classification, usage and rest-period controls, mechanisms for reporting harmful content and measures to identify and remove harmful material.
Platforms are also expected to conduct periodic assessments of digital safety risks relating to children and report on the measures they have implemented.
This represents an important shift towards a safety-by-design approach, where child protection is considered as part of the architecture and operation of a digital service rather than being addressed only after an incident occurs.

What Does This Mean for Businesses?

For digital platforms, the regulatory developments create a compliance agenda that extends well beyond simply adding an age-verification screen.
Businesses should be reviewing how they determine users' ages, whether their verification processes collect more information than necessary, and how that information is secured. They should also assess their treatment of children's data, advertising and profiling practices, content moderation systems, parental-control functionality and procedures for reporting and addressing harmful content.
The upcoming compliance period also provides businesses with an opportunity to identify potential gaps before the new requirements become fully applicable. This is particularly important for international platforms, which may need to reconcile UAE-specific requirements with existing global privacy, child-safety and platform-governance frameworks.
For businesses operating across jurisdictions, the UAE's approach also illustrates a broader regulatory trend: governments are increasingly placing responsibility on digital platforms to anticipate and mitigate risks to children, rather than leaving child safety solely to parents or individual users.

Practical Steps Checklist
Looking Ahead

The UAE's child digital safety framework reflects a broader effort to create a digital environment that is both accessible and appropriately protective of children. The introduction of a minimum age for personal social-media accounts, mandatory age-verification measures and restrictions on the commercial use of children's data represents a substantial development in the country's digital regulatory landscape.
At the same time, the effectiveness of the framework will depend in part on how age verification and other protective technologies are implemented in practice. The challenge for businesses will be to achieve meaningful protection without replacing one digital risk with another, particularly where age-assurance technologies involve the collection or processing of sensitive personal information.
As the transition period progresses towards implementation, businesses should therefore consider child digital safety not only as a content-moderation issue, but as a broader matter of privacy, data governance, technology, risk management and regulatory compliance.

How MIS Legal Can Help

MIS Legal can assist businesses in assessing the implications of the UAE's evolving child digital safety framework, reviewing data-protection and platform practices, and developing compliance strategies tailored to their digital operations.

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