United Arab Emirates Bans Under-15 Social Media
Analysis based on 43 articles · First reported Jun 18, 2026 · Last updated Jun 18, 2026
The new social media ban in the United Arab Emirates for children under 15 will likely lead to increased compliance costs for social media companies like ByteDance — TikTok Shop, Meta Platforms, and Snap Inc., as they must implement robust age verification and content control measures. This could impact their user growth in the region and potentially influence similar regulatory actions in other countries, affecting their global market strategies.
The United Arab Emirates has become the first Arab country to ban social media use for children under the age of 15, effective immediately with a 12-month transition period for platforms to comply. The resolution, approved by the United Arab Emirates Cabinet and championed by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, prohibits minors from creating, using, or operating personal social media accounts, including posting, commenting, or joining public groups. Teenagers aged 15 and 16 will be allowed to use platforms with enhanced safeguards like age-appropriate content controls and parental supervision. Social media companies, including ByteDance — TikTok Shop, Meta Platforms, and Snap Inc., are required to implement robust age-verification mechanisms, such as digital identity checks and AI-supported technologies, with self-declaration of age not being accepted. Non-compliant platforms risk being blocked in the United Arab Emirates. This move aligns with a growing international trend, with countries like Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Turkey also introducing similar restrictions to address concerns about children's exposure to inappropriate content, online safety, and mental health.
Set up alerts, explore entity relationships, search across thousands of events, and build custom intelligence feeds.
Open Dashboard