SECURITYUAE Under-15 Social Media Rule: What Parents and Teens Need to Know

What the UAE’s Under-15 Social Media Rule Means for Families

Cabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2026, issued on 17 June 2026 under the Child Digital Safety Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2025), bars children under 15 from creating or operating personal social media accounts. Parental consent does not override the age limit, and the UAE is the first Arab country to set a minimum age. For the platform duties and ID checks, see our under-15 social media guide.

Teens aged 15 to 16

Accounts are allowed, but platforms must add stronger protections: age-based content filtering, limits on public sharing and on contact with unknown users, and parental controls.

How ages will be checked

Self-declaration and tick-box age gates are not enough. Platforms must use robust, auditable methods, such as digital government ID, document scanning with biometric matching, AI-based age estimation or licensed verification providers. They have 12 months from the resolution to comply, and enforcement escalates gradually from warnings to blocking. The Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) and the National Media Authority are the enforcers.

What parents can do now

1. Check the ages registered on your children’s existing accounts.
2. Switch on each platform’s parental controls for teen accounts.
3. Expect age-verification prompts as platforms roll out the new checks.