UAE Sets 15 Years as Minimum Age for Personal Social Media Accounts

UAE Sets 15 Years as Minimum Age for Personal Social Media Accounts

¨     The United Arab Emirates Cabinet approved a resolution on 18 June 2026 setting 15 years as the minimum age for creating, using, or operating personal social media accounts.

¨     The rule applies to social media platforms available in the United Arab Emirates or targeting users in the country, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

¨     Children below 15 years of age are prohibited from creating or operating personal social media accounts.

¨     Users aged 15 and 16 years may access social media only with enhanced child-protection measures.

¨     These measures include age-appropriate content classification, restricted interaction with unknown users, regulated screen time, and parental controls.

¨     Social media companies must implement robust age-verification systems, including digital identity verification and AI-supported verification technologies.

¨     Self-declaration of age is not accepted as valid proof of age.

¨     Platforms are required to disable accounts created by children under 15 years and prevent users from bypassing age-verification systems.

¨     The resolution prohibits the collection, use, or processing of children's personal data for commercial purposes based on tracking their digital activities.

¨     Parental consent does not exempt users or platforms from the prohibitions and restrictions laid down in the resolution.