: The race to keep children off social media has shifted from political promises to technical enforcement.
After Australia became the first country to introduce a nationwide ban on social media for children under 16, governments across Europe, Asia and now the Middle East are enacting similar measures. The UAE on Thursday became the latest country to introduce mandatory age checks, making it the first Arab nation to set a legal minimum age for social media use.
The real challenge now is not whether children should be restricted from social media, but how governments and technology companies can enforce the rules effectively.
UAE joins growing list of countries
The UAE announced that children under 15 will no longer be allowed to create or operate personal social media accounts, while teenagers aged 15 and 16 can access platforms only under stricter safeguards such as parental supervision, content filtering and limits on interactions with strangers. Platforms have one year to comply.
The move follows a growing international trend led by Australia, whose landmark law came into force in December 2025.
According to Reuters, at least a dozen countries have either implemented or are in the process of legislating nationwide restrictions on children’s access to social media, while several others are tightening parental consent and age-verification rules.
As of 18 June 2026, countries fall into three broad categories:
Bans enforced (in force)
| Country | Minimum age | Status |
| Australia | Under 16 | World’s first nationwide ban, in force since December 2025. Platforms are legally responsible for preventing under-16s from creating or using accounts. |
| Indonesia | Under 16 | GovernmentGovernment has announced plans to prohibit under-16s from major social media platforms. has implemented on end of March 2026. |
Passed or tabled legislation (awaiting implementation or final approval)
| Country | Proposed age | Status |
| UAE | Under 16 | Announced on 18 June 2026. Children under 15 cannot operate personal social media accounts. Platforms have one year to implement mandatory age verification. |
| UK | Under 16 | Government announced ban; legislation expected before Christmas 2026 with rollout targeted for spring 2027. |
| Turkey | Under 15 | Parliament has passed legislation. Awaiting presidential approval before becoming law. |
| France | Under 15 | National Assembly approved bill. Senate approval and final parliamentary vote still required. |
| Malaysia | Under 16 | Government has announced implementation plans beginning in 2026. |
Countries considering or drafting bans
| Country | Proposed age | Current position | |
| Norway | Under 16 | Government will introduce legislation to Parliament later in 2026. | |
| Denmark | Under 15 | Government has political backing and is preparing legislation, with limited parental exemptions. | |
| Spain | Under 16 | Government intends to legislate mandatory age verification and ban access for minors under 16. | |
| Greece | Under 15 | Government preparing legislation, with implementation expected from January 2027. | |
| Poland | Under 15 | Draft legislation being prepared to make platforms responsible for age verification. | |
| Slovenia | Under 15 | Draft law under preparation. | |
| Austria | Under 14 | Draft legislation expected following government agreement. | |
| any | Under 16 (proposal) | Coalition discussions ongoing; currently requires parental consent for users aged 13-16. | |
| India | Not specified | National debate underway; officials have called for Australian-style age restrictions. | |
| Canada | Under 16 | Canada’s culture minister on Wednesday introduced legislation to ban children under 16 from having social media accounts. |
Other countries tightening child protections instead of blanket bans
These countries have introduced stricter parental consent, age verification or screen-time controls, but not blanket under-16 social media bans:
- China – “Minor Mode” with mandatory screen-time and app restrictions.
- Italy – Children under 14 require parental consent to open social media accounts.
- Portugal – Parliament approved parental consent requirements for users aged 13–16
Rather than focusing only on age limits, many governments are making platforms legally responsible for keeping underage users off their services
The technology behind the ban
For years, most social media companies relied on one simple question during sign-up: “What is your date of birth?”
Governments increasingly argue that self-declared ages are ineffective because children can simply enter a false birthday.
New laws, therefore, require platforms to use stronger age-verification methods to make the rules workable.
These include:
- Government-issued digital IDs
- AI-powered facial age estimation
- Credit card or payment verification
- Third-party identity services
- Mobile carrier verification
- Device-based parental controls
- Biometric age estimation
Australia’s legislation deliberately avoids prescribing one single technology, instead requiring platforms to take “reasonable steps” to prevent children under 16 from creating accounts. The UAE similarly requires platforms to use robust verification that goes beyond self-declared ages.
Meta: AI that estimates your age
Meta has become one of the most aggressive companies in deploying artificial intelligence for age verification on its platforms.
Rather than depending solely on birthdays entered during registration, the company analyses signals including:
- Friends of similar ages
- Birthday messages
- Profile activity
- Interaction patterns
If Meta believes a teenager is pretending to be an adult, the account can automatically be switched into a Teen Account with stricter protections.
Users may then be asked to upload a government-issued ID or record a short video selfie analysed by facial age-estimation technology.
TikTok: Face estimation and family controls
TikTok combines several approaches on its platform.
The company can request:
- Government identification
- Facial age estimation using AI
- Parental verification through Family Pairing
- Family Pairing allows parents to:
- Set screen-time limits
- Approve privacy settings
- Restrict direct messages
- Control searchable content
YouTube: Account verification through Google
YouTube relies largely on Google’s broader identity system for age verification.
Depending on location and content being accessed, users may be asked to verify their age through:
- Government-issued ID
- Credit card verification
- Google account information
Australia’s new law specifically includes YouTube among platforms covered by the under-16 ban after regulators concluded it functions as a social platform rather than simply a video service.
Snapchat: Parent-first approach
Snapchat has introduced Family Centre, allowing parents to:
- Monitor friend lists
- View communication history
- Report safety concerns
The company also performs additional age checks on Snapchat where required by local law, but has generally focused more on parental supervision than mandatory identity verification.
Roblox
The gaming platform has introduced one of the industry’s most comprehensive age assurance systems. Users can verify their age through facial age estimation using a video selfie, government-issued ID or parent-linked accounts.
Roblox automatically assigns younger users to age-based account types.
Communication features are also restricted based on verified age, with younger users prevented from chatting with significantly older players.
X and Reddit
X and Reddit continue to rely primarily on user-declared ages across many markets.
However, both companies have begun introducing stronger verification where national laws require it, particularly in Australia and parts of Europe.
Industry observers expect these verification systems to expand as more countries introduce mandatory age restrictions.
Early impact
Australia has provided the first real-world test of the new approach.
Within days of the law taking effect, Meta said it had removed nearly 550,000 underage accounts across Facebook, Instagram and Threads. Other platforms also began rolling out age checks and account removals.
Researchers caution that determined teenagers continue to find workarounds, including using VPNs, borrowed identities and alternative sites that remain outside current regulations.
Parents are largely supportive, but debate remains
Public reaction has been sharply divided.
Many parents have welcomed stronger protections against cyberbullying, damaging content, online predators and excess screen time.
Governments have cited growing evidence linking heavy social media use with anxiety, sleep disruption and mental health problems among children.
Technology companies, meanwhile, have argued that blanket bans risk pushing teenagers towards less regulated corners of the internet. Privacy advocates have also questioned whether widespread age verification would require users to share more personal data than before.
As more countries prepare similar laws, the next battleground will be less about legislation and more about technology: whether platforms can accurately determine who is really behind the screen without violating user privacy.
GN
