The United Arab Emirates has set a minimum age of 15 for social media use, becoming the first Arab country to impose such a restriction.
Under the new rule, approved through a government resolution, children below 15 cannot create or run personal social media accounts. They are also barred from posting, commenting, sharing content, or joining public groups.
Teenagers aged 15 and 16 may keep using these platforms, but under added safeguards. These include parental controls, screen-time limits, age-appropriate content filters, and limits on contact from unknown users.
The regulation also changes how platforms will confirm a user’s age. Companies can no longer accept self-declared ages and must instead use digital identity verification and AI-based tools, the UAE government said.
Platforms must shut down existing accounts belonging to children under 15, block attempts to get around the verification system, and stop using children’s data for targeted advertising.
Social media companies have been given 12 months to comply.
The UAE said the measures are meant to protect children from inappropriate content, online exploitation and privacy risks, while also cutting down on excessive use of these platforms among young people.
The move follows similar action elsewhere. Australia became the first country to bar under-16s from social media in November 2024. On June 15, 2026, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK government plans to introduce a similar ban for under-16s by the end of the year, with implementation expected in 2027.
The European Union is also reviewing the issue. In May, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc would target “addictive and harmful” platform design under the upcoming Digital Fairness Act, expected to be proposed later this year.
The rule applies to platforms, including Meta, Snapchat, YouTube, and Reddit, among others, operating in the UAE.
