The United Arab Emirates has announced a ban on social media use for children under the age of 15, becoming the latest country to introduce stricter regulations aimed at protecting young people online.
The decision was announced on Thursday through a cabinet resolution, which gives social media companies 12 months to comply with the new rules.
Under the policy, platforms will be required to monitor and deactivate accounts belonging to users under 15. Failure to comply could attract penalties ranging from warnings to partial or complete blocking of the service.
“The resolution sets the minimum age for social media use at 15 years,” the state-run WAM news agency reported.
“Children below this age are prohibited from creating, using, or operating personal accounts on social media platforms.”
The restrictions also extend to how minors interact online. According to the resolution, children under 15 will not be allowed to access major social features such as posting content, commenting, sharing, joining public groups or channels, or participating in large interactive spaces.
The UAE joins several countries that have recently moved to limit children’s access to social media. Australia became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on users under 16 in December, while Britain announced a similar measure earlier this week. Canada has also introduced policies aimed at strengthening online protections for minors.
WAM said the country’s media and telecommunications authorities have been granted powers to enforce the new rules and take action against companies that fail to meet the requirements.
The measures available to regulators include issuing warnings, imposing administrative penalties, and blocking platforms either partially or entirely.
