The UAE's digital safety law is a welcome step towards protecting minors
The editorial argues that protecting children online now requires a whole society response, not just parents and schools, because children spend so much of their lives in digital spaces and the risks keep evolving. It says this shared responsibility still needs firm rules to work, since the internet makes harmful content easy to produce and distribute, and bad actors can target minors in increasingly sophisticated ways.
It welcomes the UAE federal decree law issued in late December 2025 as a strong step that creates a comprehensive national framework for child digital safety. The piece highlights that the law pushes stricter privacy controls and responsible practices for digital entities operating in the country, and it restricts the collection, processing, or sharing of personal data for children under 13 unless appropriate protections are in place. It also stresses platform obligations such as age appropriate content filtering, real time monitoring, fast removal pathways for harmful material, and clearer reporting procedures for online abuse.
The editorial places the law inside a broader UAE policy direction that embraces new technology in education while trying to reduce its harms. It points to related measures such as changes affecting in game chat features on Roblox in the UAE and the opening of a clinic in Abu Dhabi focused on child screen addiction. It frames these moves as part of improving child wellbeing and ties them to the UAE Year of the Family programme planned for 2026.
Finally, it notes that other countries are also moving toward stricter rules, citing Australia’s approach to restricting social media accounts for under 16s and China’s limits on gaming and screen time. The argument is that digital spaces cross borders, so regulation is becoming more stringent worldwide, and the UAE law is presented as a benchmark for balancing rapid technological progress with child welfare.
