What’s On/Social
No social media accounts for under-15s in the UAE: what changes for brands
A Cabinet resolution issued in June 2026 bars children under 15 from personal social media accounts, adds protections for 15 and 16 year olds and stops platforms targeting ads at children through profiling. Platforms have until mid-2027.
The UAE has set a minimum age for social media. Cabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2026, issued in June under the Child Digital Safety Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2025, was reported by Khaleej Times on 18 June; law firm Baker McKenzie dates it to 17 June. Platforms have twelve months to comply, which puts full enforcement around mid-2027.
What the resolution says
- Children under 15 may not create or run a personal social media account, and parental permission does not change that.
- Teenagers aged 15 and 16 may have accounts with safeguards, including content filtering, limits on public sharing and on contact with strangers, screen time controls and parental tools, according to legal summaries.
- Platforms must find and suspend underage accounts, prevent workarounds, assess risks to children and report to the authorities.
- Age can be verified through a government digital identity, an official document with biometric matching, AI age estimation or licensed verification services.
- It covers every social media platform operating in, or aimed at, the UAE.
The line on advertising
Platforms may not show children advertising targeted through tracking or behavioural profiling, or use their data commercially. Contextual advertising, placed alongside relevant content without profiling, and processing for child safety remain allowed, according to Baker McKenzie and Kisser Legal.
Enforcement
The National Media Authority oversees media and content, and the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority oversees the technical side, both reporting to the Child Digital Safety Council. Platforms face escalating measures, from warnings to partial or full blocking, and Khaleej Times reported that using a VPN to get around the rules could also be penalised.
What it means for your brand
- If you sell to children, such as toys, games, snacks or learning products, social media will stop reaching them directly. Speak to parents, schools and shoppers instead.
- Review any targeting that includes young teenagers, well before platforms enforce the rules.
- Be careful with family and child creators. How the rules apply to parent-run accounts featuring children is not clear from the summaries we read, so take advice first.
- Expect age checks to become common, which could change audience numbers in the UAE.
- Lean on contextual placements, which stay permitted.
Need to rethink how your brand reaches families and young people? ALXO can help you plan a responsible approach that works. Let us talk.
