The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday became the first Arab nation to join the worldwide trend of banning social media for children. The UAE set a minimum age of 15, with mandatory age verification rules for providers.
The UAE Cabinet resolution passed on Thursday was not quite as strict as Australia’s trailblazing ban on social media for children under 16. The Emirati government gave platforms a relatively generous 12 months to identify and remove social media accounts for children below the cutoff age.
Fifteen and sixteen-year-olds are allowed to continue using social media, but with some restrictions, including blocks on age-inappropriate content and interactions with unknown users. Platforms will be required to monitor screen time for teens in the 15-16 age bracket and provide their parents with supervisory controls.
Like most other bans on social media for children, the UAE rules place a significant unfunded burden on social media companies, requiring them to quickly devise and implement age verification systems and identity checks.
The resolution made it clear that users will have to prove their age, and parents will not be allowed to bypass the age restrictions.
The resolution further requires social media companies to avoid using the personal data of children for profiling or targeted advertising. Violating any of these requirements could get the offending platform banned from operating in the UAE, a somewhat more severe penalty than the fines stipulated by most countries with similar rules.
Emirati state media said the ban was conceived in line with “leading global trends in digital child protection,” which are pointing toward a “forward-looking model that effectively combines digital safety, family empowerment, platform responsibility, and practical enforceability.”
“The resolution applies to all social media platforms that enable users to create accounts or personal profiles, engage in social interaction, publish or share content, or that rely on algorithmic systems to display, rank, or recommend content, whether free or paid. It applies to all platforms whose services are available within the UAE or are directed at users in the country,” Gulf News noted.
According to the Khaleej Times, parents in the UAE are generally supportive of the new rules, as they worry about social media addiction, declining school performance, and online predators.
“Social media is like an engine, and youngsters should not operate it without some training or basic education. I think this is the first step in making social media safer for everyone,” said the mother of a 15-year-old girl.
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