The United Arab Emirates has become the first Arab country to introduce a social media ban for children under 15, preventing them from creating personal accounts even with parental consent.
The rules, approved by the UAE cabinet on Thursday, come as governments around the world have increasingly moved to restrict children’s access to social media over concerns around harmful content, unsafe interactions, excessive use and the collection of personal data.
“The resolution sets the minimum age for social media use at 15 years,” the official WAM news agency said, citing the cabinet resolution.
“Children below this age are prohibited from creating, using, or operating personal accounts on social media platforms.”
They are also barred from “accessing the full features of such platforms, including social interaction, publishing, commenting, sharing, joining public groups, open channels, or any large-scale interactive spaces”, it said.
Children under 15 will not be allowed to create or use personal social media accounts, and parental consent cannot be used to exempt them from the restrictions.
The new social media age limit makes the UAE the first Arab country to impose a minimum age of 15 for personal social media accounts. Unlike some international approaches that allow parental permission for younger users, the UAE’s rules place responsibility on platforms to enforce age restrictions and create safer online experiences for children and teenagers.
Users aged 15 and 16 will still be able to access platforms, but with additional safeguards including age-appropriate content settings, restrictions on interactions with unknown users, screen-time management tools and parental supervision features.