On January 1, 2026, the UAE implemented a child digital safety law that goes further than any age ban.
Where Australia said “no under-16s on social media,” the UAE said “every platform accessible to children must meet these requirements – or face penalties.”
What’s covered:
Not just social media. Everything your children use digitally:
- Social media: TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram
- Live-streaming: Twitch, YouTube Live
- Gaming: Roblox, Fortnite, any online game
- Streaming: Netflix, Disney Plus, any video platform
- Messaging: WhatsApp, any chat service
- E-commerce: Any shopping site
If children in the UAE can access it, the law applies. Even if the company has no UAE office.
The requirements that matter to parents:
For Under-13s: Verified Parental Consent Required
Platforms are prohibited from collecting or using personal data from under-13s without “explicit, documented and verifiable” parental consent.
This goes beyond the “click to agree” checkboxes platforms currently use. The law requires actual verification.
What this means: If your under-13 uses Roblox, TikTok or any covered platform, the platform now needs verified proof you’ve consented to data collection. No more children creating accounts by lying about their age and platforms looking the other way.
Content Moderation Requirements
Platforms must protect children from content that could “negatively affect their morals, mental wellbeing or social values.”
The law doesn’t define exactly what this means, but it puts the responsibility on platforms to filter and moderate, not on parents to constantly monitor.
Excessive Engagement Features
The law targets “excessive engagement” design, though it doesn’t specify which features must change.
This could mean limits on auto-play, infinite scroll, algorithm-driven feeds exactly the features designed to keep children using platforms longer than intended.
What’s different from Australia’s approach:
Australia banned under-16s entirely. The UAE is regulating how platforms operate when children do use them.
Complete bans push children to less-regulated alternatives so the UAE is attempting to make mainstream platforms safer rather than making them off-limits.
For parents in the UAE:
The law is brand new, so platforms are still implementing changes. Here’s what to check:
Has anything actually changed on the platforms your children use?
- Check if TikTok has updated its UAE-specific settings
- Look for new parental consent requirements on gaming platforms like Roblox
- See if messaging apps have implemented new under-13 verification
What should you do differently?
- Don’t assume the law means platforms are automatically safe now
- Verify what actual changes each platform has made
- Use this as an opportunity to review what your children are accessing
The data collection question:
The under-13 parental consent requirement is significant. Platforms make money from data. If they can’t collect it from under-13s without verified parental consent, they have two choices: implement real verification or restrict under-13 access entirely.
Watch which approach platforms take. Some might make UAE access harder for under-13s rather than build verification systems. Others might implement changes globally rather than maintaining different versions by region. Meta’s AgeKey shows how verification might work.
For parents outside the UAE:
This law matters even if you’re not there.
When major regions impose strict requirements, platforms sometimes implement changes globally rather than creating country-specific versions. The UAE joins Australia, the EU and potentially multiple European countries in forcing platforms to rethink their approach to children. See which platforms are responding to these pressures.
What you can learn from this:
The UAE is testing whether comprehensive regulation works better than outright bans. Over the next year, watch:
- Do platforms actually implement meaningful changes?
- Does content moderation improve?
- Do verified parental consent requirements reduce under-13 access?
- Or do children migrate to platforms that ignore the law?
The answers will show whether regulation can make platforms safer, or whether bans are the only option that actually works.
The practical takeaway:
If you’re deciding whether to allow your child on any platform, the UAE’s approach gives you a framework for what to demand:
- Verified parental consent for data collection
- Content moderation that actually filters harmful material
- Limits on engagement-maximising features
Whether you’re in the UAE or not, you can apply these standards. Does the platform you’re considering offer these protections? If not, that tells you something about whether it’s designed with children’s wellbeing in mind. Learn how to set parental controls across all platforms.
The UAE is saying platforms must earn access to children, not assume it. A different approach to other countries and definitely worth a watch.
Source:
UAE rewrites the rules for big tech: Why Twitch, Snapchat, YouTube and more foreign apps must now follow local child safety laws – Gulf News, January 15, 2026
