The law has extraterritorial reach over digital platforms and internet service providers that operate in, or target users in, the UAE.

By Brian A. Meenagh, Danielle van der Merwe, Ksenia Koroleva, and Fady Saleh

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has enacted Federal Decree‑Law No. 26 of 2025 on Child Digital Safety (the CDS Federal Law), establishing a comprehensive framework to protect children online with extraterritorial reach over digital platforms and internet service providers that operate in, or target users in, the UAE. The CDS Federal Law took effect on January 1, 2026, and covered entities have up to one year from that date to comply, unless the Cabinet extends the deadline.

Since the CDS Federal Law delegates key operational details to administrative regulations, several elements, including platform classification and penalties, are intended to be finalized through Cabinet decisions.

For more details, see our article.