Child Digital Safety: UAE Issues Federal Decree-Law To Protect Children Online

The UAE has introduced a new Federal Decree-Law on child digital safety, creating a unified legal framework to protect children online. The legislation supports the UAE’s declaration of 2026 as the Year of Family and aims to strengthen quality of life for children in all settings by addressing digital risks to physical, psychological, and moral well-being.

The decree-law applies to internet service providers, digital platforms, and those responsible for children’s care, whether they operate within the UAE or target users in the country. It seeks to promote safe, age-appropriate digital content and responsible usage, while clearly outlining obligations for platforms, service providers, and caregivers in the wider digital ecosystem.

The Decree-Law, issued through a UAE Cabinet decision following approval from the Education, Human Development, and Community Development Council, introduces a system to categorise digital platforms by their risks and impact on children. This classification considers platform type, nature of content, usage volume, and influence on children, and sets controls on how different age groups may use each category.

Digital platforms covered include websites, search engines, smart applications, messaging tools, online forums, gaming platforms, social media platforms, live streaming services, podcast platforms, streaming services, video-on-demand platforms, and e-commerce platforms. The legislation establishes these categories as a reference framework for regulatory standards and clarifies restrictions on children’s access according to age and platform characteristics.

The Decree-Law prohibits digital platforms from collecting, processing, publishing, or sharing personal data of children under 13, except in clearly defined circumstances. Platforms dedicated to education or health may be exempted by UAE Cabinet resolution, provided they implement measures that protect children’s safety and privacy, and comply with the specific safeguards required under the new legal framework.

Digital platforms must adopt a range of protective tools to reduce children’s exposure to harmful online content. Obligations include default privacy settings, age verification mechanisms, tools to enforce age restrictions, content blocking and filtering systems, age-rating tools, and stricter rules on targeted online advertising. Platforms are also banned from allowing children to participate in online commercial games involving gambling or any digital activity that includes betting with money.

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The decree-law assigns specific duties to internet service providers, requiring activation of content filtering systems across their networks to support policies that restrict harmful material for children. Providers must also ensure children’s use of internet services and electronic devices remains supervised and safe, including obtaining a guardian’s signature on terms of service that can mandate integration and activation of parental control tools.

UAE child digital safety decree-law duties for caregivers and governance

Caregivers have defined responsibilities under the legislation. These include monitoring children’s online activity, using parental control tools to support safe access, and avoiding the creation of accounts for children on services that are not age-appropriate or that lack enhanced child protection standards. The law positions caregivers as a central part of the wider safety framework across platforms and networks.

The Ministry of Family and relevant local authorities responsible for child affairs must develop programmes and mechanisms to help caregivers meet these duties. Each authority, within its jurisdiction, is tasked with supporting awareness and implementation of the decree-law and its implementing regulations, providing tools and guidance so that families can apply digital safety measures consistently at home and in other settings.

The decree-law also establishes the "Child Digital Safety Council" in the UAE, chaired by the Minister of Family, as an advisory and coordinating body. The council is responsible for proposing policies, legislation, and strategies to achieve the highest levels of digital safety for children, launching a comprehensive awareness campaign, and conducting studies to track emerging digital risks as technology advances.

The new legislation further regulates how harmful content affecting children is reported, ensuring clear mechanisms for notification and rapid handling of cases involving online abuse or exploitation. Together with platform, provider, and caregiver obligations, and the work of the Child Digital Safety Council, the decree-law forms a coordinated national system to protect children’s rights in the digital environment.

With inputs from WAM