Tricking parents and giving children their accounts or phones is a violation

The Director of Policies and Programs Department at the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TADRA), Engineer Abdul Rahman Al Marzouqi, confirmed that any attempt to circumvent the decision to regulate children’s access to social media platforms, whether by creating accounts for children or enabling them to use their parents’ accounts or phones to access the platforms, is considered a violation of the provisions of the decision.
He explained during a media briefing held today to review the details of the 2026 Cabinet decision regarding regulating children’s access to social media platforms, that the decision holds the guardian directly responsible for protecting the child digitally, and obligates him not to create accounts on social media platforms on behalf of a child under the age of 15, or provide him with a device that contains applications and platforms that do not fit the permissible age group.
He pointed out that digital platforms will be obligated to implement effective procedures to verify the ages of users, through the use of more than one smart technology to confirm the true age of the end user, stressing that if it is discovered that the account holder is under 15 years old, the necessary measures will be taken, most notably closing the account.
Regarding the penalties imposed on violating parents, he said that the decision in its current stage focuses on regulating responsibilities, while it includes clear procedures against platforms that do not comply with age verification requirements or implement the provisions of the decision.
Regarding children who create content, he explained that the decision does not prevent the continued production of useful or purposeful content, except that the account must be owned and managed by the guardian, not the child himself, in accordance with the requirement that those under 15 years old not have personal accounts on social media platforms.
He stressed that photographing children and publishing content in which they participate does not constitute a violation in itself, as long as it adheres to the provisions of the Child Digital Safety Law, which prohibits the exploitation of children in content that may expose them to bullying or negatively reflect on their psychological health, while allowing legal and purposeful content that preserves the rights and dignity of the child.