The UAE’s new regulations banning children under 15 from using social media may extend beyond platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and X to include certain streaming, music, and online gaming services if they feature interactive capabilities.

According to the UAE Cabinet resolution, children under the age of 15 are prohibited from creating, using, or managing personal accounts on social media platforms. Their access to features such as publishing content, commenting, sharing, and joining public groups, open channels, or broad interactive spaces will also be restricted.

The significance of these regulations lies in the broad definition of the platforms covered. According to the official text, any service that allows for the creation of a personal account or profile, social interaction, content publishing or sharing, or uses algorithms to suggest, rank, or display content—whether free or paid—could be subject to these requirements.

This has raised questions about whether digital services such as Netflix, Spotify, or online gaming platforms will fall under the new regulations if they include chat functions, user profiles, friend lists, public groups, or content recommendation systems.

Under the resolution, teenagers aged 15 and 16 may still use social platforms, but their accounts must be subject to specific protective measures. These include limiting content to age-appropriate material, disabling interactions with unknown users, controlling usage time, and providing parental monitoring tools.

A key aspect of the regulations is that parental consent does not provide an exception for children under 15; the use of covered platforms remains prohibited for this age group even with family approval.

Platforms are required to implement reliable age verification mechanisms. Simply entering a date of birth is insufficient; companies must utilize methods such as digital identity, artificial intelligence-based technologies, biometric tools, or other methods approved by the Child Digital Safety Council.

Furthermore, the use of children's personal data for targeted advertising, digital behavior tracking, or commercial profiling is prohibited. A transition period of up to 12 months has been granted for companies to align with the new regulations.

The UAE aims to protect children from inappropriate content, unsafe interactions, personal data collection, excessive digital use, and addictive designs within online platforms.

Experts suggest that implementing these regulations will present challenges, such as verifying age without violating privacy, preventing the bypassing of restrictions, and precisely identifying all covered platforms. Nevertheless, this move marks a new stage in the regulation of the digital environment for children in the UAE.