UAE introduces new online restrictions with child safely legislation

The changes are timely and particularly relevant in the context of global developments in protecting children’s safety online – most notably Australia’s ban on use of social media by those aged under 16, which came into force on 10 December 2025, according to online safety experts at Pinsent Masons.

A new classification system for websites and stricter expectations on digital platforms, internet service providers and ‘caregivers’, covering both parents and legal guardians, to monitor and limit children’s exposure to harmful content forms the core of the new law, UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 26/2025 On Child Digital Safety (‘the Law’).

Under the new Law, the UAE’s minister of family will oversee a new Child Digital Safety Council, which will steer governance and digital media policies to encourage a safe and healthy digital environment and promote a culture of responsible technology use.

The Law has a broad remit, extending across a wide range of digital platforms, from websites, search engines and electronic games platforms to e-commerce, social media, podcasts and live streaming platforms. It covers any digital platform operating within or targeting users in the UAE, including foreign digital platforms.

Digital platforms will be categorised according to a new system which measures the type of content, usage volume, level of risk it presents and the potential impact the digital platform could have on children.

Age verification systems will be introduced, with digital platforms required to enable the highest levels of content filtering and privacy tools on accounts being used by children, and new controls being introduced on digital platform advertising targeted at younger age groups.

Internet service providers are required to obtain consent from caregivers for children to use their systems and to provide strong parental control tools, with caregivers now required to monitor their children’s online activities. 

“It is important for parents and other caregivers to be made aware of their obligations under the Law which include refraining from creating accounts for children on digital platforms that do not comply with the child’s age group or enhanced protection controls,” said UAE data protection expert Martin Hayward of Pinsent Masons.

Data protection rules have also been tightened, with a ban on data collection or publishing the data of anyone under 13, unless certain data protection conditions are met. Health and education exemptions are included within the new Law subject to protections being enforced.

“The Law makes reference to applicable data protection legislation. Companies subject to the new Law should consider their data protection obligations under both the new Law and existing data protection laws and enhance their data protection compliance programmes accordingly,” said Alexandra Bertz of Pinsent Masons.

The Law comes alongside the UAE declaring 2026 the ‘Year of the Family’ and aligns with a wider regional push for closer controls on digital content which may be accessed by children. All those subject to the Law will have 12 months, until 31 December 2026, to ensure compliance with requirements. Implementing regulations are expected to follow shortly, setting out further details, including the penalty regime for breaches.

The Law follows recent announcements on online safety from countries such as Australia and the UK, which passed its own Online Safety Act (OSA) in 2023. The OSA places significant obligations on many online service providers requiring the removal of illegal content by all in-scope services, as well as the removal of content that is legal but harmful to children by in-scope services that are “likely to be accessed by children”. Age verification is one tool being used by in-scope services to show that legal but harmful content is not accessible by children.

This week, the UK announced a new consultation on children’s social media use. It will seek views on measures including restrictions on ‘addictive’ social media features, better age checks and potentially banning access to social media by children as part of that consultation, technology minister Liz Kendall told the UK parliament.