UAE bans social media access for under-15s
The UAE Cabinet has issued a resolution regulating children’s access to social media platforms, setting the minimum age for social media use at 15 years, News.Az reports, citing Gulf News.
The resolution allows social media platforms to progressively implement the new standards through a transitional period of up to 12 months, in coordination with the relevant authorities, ensuring technical and regulatory readiness, the government announced on Thursday.
The decision comes amid the growing use of social media platforms by children and increasing digital challenges and risks associated with such use, including exposure to inappropriate content, unsafe interactions, the collection of personal data, and patterns of excessive usage.
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The government said this necessitates the development of an integrated national framework that enables children to benefit from technology while ensuring their protection in the digital environment. It added that the move reflects the UAE’s proactive approach in developing advanced legislative models that keep pace with global digital transformations and place child safety among its priorities.
As per the resolution, children under the age of 15 are prohibited from creating or using personal accounts on social media platforms and shall not be permitted to access their full features.
Children between the ages of 15 and 16 must be provided with regulated and safe access to platforms subject to age-appropriate content classification, restricted interaction, regulated usage time, and parental controls.
Platforms are required to implement accurate and reliable age verification mechanisms. Platforms are also required to monitor non-compliant accounts and take immediate action to enforce compliance, the resolution states.
The resolution applies to all social media platforms that enable users to create accounts or personal profiles, engage in social interaction, publish or share content, or that rely on algorithmic systems to display, rank, or recommend content, whether free or paid. It applies to all platforms whose services are available within the UAE or are directed at users in the country.
According to the resolution, parental consent shall not constitute a valid exemption from the prohibitions or restrictions set out in the resolution. That means that even if a parent gives permission, that permission cannot be used to get around the rules in the resolution.
The resolution also prohibits the use or processing of children's personal data for commercial purposes based on the tracking of their digital activities.
That means companies are now not allowed to collect and use children's personal information for business or advertising purposes by monitoring what children do online.
By Nijat Babayev
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