The UAE — where TikTok accounts outnumber people — is joining a rising tide of countries worldwide banning social media for teens, and the first to take the leap in the Middle East.
Under new proposals, children 14 years old or younger will be banned from having accounts on the likes of Instagram and Snapchat, and 15- and 16-year-olds will only have access with parental controls. So-called surveillance advertising, which places ads based on individual online behavior, will also be banned from targeting children. The policy will take effect within a year.
Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, and Malaysia have already restricted under-16 social media use. At least two dozen other countries are considering similar steps. The UAE, which has a small and majority foreign population, may struggle to bring the big tech platforms to heel, but the global shift to address cyberbullying and screen addiction could help.
