UAE may block social media platforms that allow children under 15

The UAE has revealed new details about its upcoming social media law for children.

Under the new rules, social media companies operating in or targeting the UAE will have 12 months to introduce robust age verification systems, actively identify underage users, and disable accounts that violate the law. Platforms that fail to comply could face escalating enforcement measures, ranging from financial penalties to partial or even complete blocking in the country.

The measures expand on the Cabinet resolution announced earlier this year, which set 15 as the minimum age for creating or using a personal social media account in the UAE.

Perhaps the biggest change is that simply entering a date of birth will no longer be enough.

Platforms will be required to verify users' ages using approved technical methods, including the UAE's Digital ID system and AI-powered age verification technologies. According to officials, the data collected during this process must be limited to what is strictly necessary for age verification and cannot be stored or reused for other purposes.

After the 12-month transition period, platforms will be expected to:

prevent children under 15 from creating accounts;
detect and disable existing underage accounts;
stop users from bypassing age verification systems;
introduce enhanced protections for teenagers aged 15–16.

Authorities will have the power to issue warnings, impose administrative penalties, partially block platforms, or ban them entirely if they fail to comply.

Existing accounts will also be affected

The new rules do not apply only to future users.

Officials confirmed that accounts already owned by children under 15 will also have to be disabled once the transition period ends—even if those accounts have accumulated large audiences over the years.

Platforms are expected to notify users in advance and give them enough time to download their data before the accounts are deactivated.

Whether an account can later be transferred to a parent or converted into an adult account will depend on each platform's own policies. However, one thing is clear: the child will no longer be allowed to operate it.

Parents cannot bypass the ban

The government also clarified that parental consent does not exempt children from the new rules.

Children under 15 will not be allowed to create, use, or manage personal social media accounts, regardless of whether their parents approve.

For teenagers aged 15 and 16, access will still be permitted, but platforms will be required to introduce additional safeguards. These include:

age-appropriate content restrictions;
parental supervision tools;
screen time controls;
limits on interacting with unknown users.

Only users aged 16 and older will receive unrestricted access to all platform features.

Young creators can still make content

One of the biggest questions following the announcement concerned children who already create content online.

Officials clarified that the law does not prohibit children from appearing in videos or creating content. Instead, it changes who controls the account.

Parents or legal guardians may continue filming, editing, and publishing content featuring their child, provided it is shared through the parent's own account, not one managed by the child.

In other words, young creators do not have to stop making videos—they simply cannot own or operate a personal social media account until they reach the minimum age.