The United Arab Emirates has issued a federal decree-law aimed at tightening online protections for children, setting out new duties for internet service providers, digital platforms and caregivers as the Gulf state prepares to designate 2026 as the “Year of the Family”.
The decree-law creates a broad framework intended to shield children from harmful online content and practices that could affect their physical, psychological or moral wellbeing, and it applies to services operating in the UAE as well as platforms outside the country that target users inside it.
A wide range of services fall under the scope, including websites, search engines, messaging apps, forums, online games, social media, live streaming, podcasts, video-on-demand and e-commerce.
The law introduces a system to categorise digital platforms based on their risks and impact on children, with standards that consider platform type, content, usage volume and the effect on minors, and it sets controls and restrictions by age group.
It also bars platforms from collecting, processing, publishing or sharing personal data of children under 13 except under specific conditions, while allowing potential exemptions for education and health platforms via a cabinet decision, provided safeguards are in place.
Platforms must implement default privacy settings, age-verification mechanisms, tools to enforce age limits, and blocking, filtering and age-rating tools, and the decree-law also prohibits children’s participation in online commercial games involving gambling or betting.
Internet service providers are required to activate content-filtering systems on their networks and to take measures aimed at safe and supervised use of internet services or devices by children, including terms that integrate parental control tools.
Caregivers, meanwhile, are tasked with monitoring children’s digital activity, using parental controls, and avoiding the creation of accounts on services that are not age-appropriate.
The decree-law establishes a Child Digital Safety Council, chaired by the Minister of Family, to coordinate federal and local entities with the private sector and propose policies, awareness campaigns and studies on emerging digital risks.
The breadth of services covered suggests the UAE is aiming for a whole-of-ecosystem regime rather than a narrow content rulebook, but execution will depend on how risk categories, age checks and exemptions are defined in implementing regulations.
The law’s reach to platforms outside the UAE that target local users could raise compliance costs for global tech firms, especially around age assurance, ad targeting and data handling for minors.
