UAE social media ban: Parents urged to use new controls, not create fake accounts for kids

The United Arab Emirates is enforcing new social media age restrictions, with a significant focus on parental responsibility to ensure compliance. The recent Cabinet Resolution prohibits children under the age of 15 from creating or operating personal social media accounts. While tech platforms bear the primary legal obligation to verify ages and suspend underage accounts, authorities are emphasizing that parents must actively support the new digital safety regime.

“

The greatest responsibility falls on the platforms themselves; they are obligated to verify the user’s age. However, there is an expectation from parents to use the tools provided, to support the prevention of circumvention.

Abdulrahman Al Marzouqi, Director of Policies and Programmes at the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), stressed that parents should not act as a "loophole" by creating accounts for their children. "We do not expect parents to go and create accounts on behalf of their children and hand them the phones so they can use these accounts," Al Marzouqi stated. He clarified that such actions would be considered circumvention, which the resolution prohibits. Instead, parents are urged to utilize the tools that will be made available on these platforms to help manage their children's online activity.

“

We do not expect parents to go and create accounts on behalf of their children and hand them the phones so they can use these accounts. These actions would constitute a form of circumvention that the resolution has prohibited.

Under the new regulations, social media platforms are required to move beyond simple self-declaration of age. They must implement technically precise age-verification systems, potentially involving government digital identity portals, facial recognition, or AI. For accounts already belonging to users under 15, platforms have a year to identify and delete them. Children aged 15 and 16 are permitted to use social media but will have mandatory parental control tools, allowing parents to manage usage times, content exposure, and privacy settings. The law also includes an exception for "child influencers," provided their online presence is strictly managed by an adult.

“

These tools will assist parents in controlling certain features related to social media platforms for the demographic above 15. This includes determining when they can use the platforms, the duration of use, the type of content they are exposed to, and specific privacy settings.