The United Arab Emirates has prohibited children under 15 from holding social media accounts, with Cabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2026 giving platforms up to twelve months to deploy identity verification systems. According to UAE officials, the threshold was set after research into cognitive development identified age 15 as a stage when rational reasoning and impulse control are still maturing and require heightened safeguarding. The regulation also imposes enhanced protections for 15- and 16-year-olds, including content filters and screen-time tools, and empowers the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority to partially or fully block non-compliant platforms. Approved verification methods include digital government identity, biometric facial recognition, and AI-powered age estimation, with a strict requirement that minors’ data be used solely for age checks and not stored or exploited.

Viewed from Canberra, the Emirati move arrives as Australia’s own Social Media Minimum Age Act, implemented in 2025, has fallen well short of its aims. Government data cited by Australian media indicate that roughly seven in ten parents whose children had accounts before the ban report their children still use them, with teenagers devising workarounds that bypass both legislative and parental controls. Some technology policy analysts in Australia argue that the deactivation of millions of legitimate accounts inadvertently dismantled the parental oversight tools built into devices by Apple and Google, leaving young users in less visible online spaces. Australian legislators are now signalling a willingness to tighten enforcement, though no new legislation has been tabled.

In Mexico City, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that a broad public consultation on regulating minors’ use of artificial intelligence and social media will launch after the football World Cup in July, involving health specialists, lawmakers, media, and parent groups. The initiative aligns with a wider international trend: France, the United Kingdom, China, Vietnam, and several US states have introduced or are weighing restrictions, often citing evidence of harm to mental health, sleep, and attention. Health authorities in Australia report that children now average more than four hours of daily screen time, with some teenagers reaching eleven hours, while fewer than one in five meet basic physical activity guidelines. Medical experts there describe platform design as deliberately addictive, comparing it to a slot machine that relentlessly holds user engagement.

Within the UAE, the social media regulation forms part of a broader child-protection architecture that links online safety to anti-narcotics efforts. Police forces in Abu Dhabi and Dubai warn that drug trafficking networks increasingly use social media, messaging apps, and gaming platforms to target young people, prompting awareness campaigns that highlight the neurological trap of “trying it just once.” Dubai Police officials, however, stress that student drug abuse remains statistically minimal and confined to isolated cases, with institutional data from rehabilitation centres and correctional facilities showing low prevalence. The UAE’s narcotics law exempts from criminal penalties individuals who voluntarily seek treatment, a provision authorities describe as a prevention-first incentive. The twelve-month compliance window for social media platforms is now running, while Mexico’s national discussion is expected to begin in the second half of July.