Social Media Transparency
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Middle East

United Arab Emirates

23%DSA alignment

The media regime is licensing and content-control, but a newly adopted children's-social-media resolution adds age verification, a targeted-ad-to-minors ban and child risk assessments: the region's only DSA-adjacent child-protection cluster, not yet fully in force.

In forceFederal Decree-Law No. 55 of 2023 (Media Regulation) (2023)· National Media Authority
Partly in forceCabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2026 (Children's Access to Social Media) (2026)· NMA / TDRA

Scored against the DSA

Each obligation the DSA imposes on very large platforms, and whether United Arab Emirates’s law requires the same. Cells cover DSA-style, user-protective transparency and accountability only.

  • Required by law
  • Partial / emerging
  • No such obligation
  • Undetermined

Transparency

  • No such obligation

    Public ad libraryDSA Art. 39

    No ad-library mandate.

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  • No such obligation

    Transparency reportsDSA Art. 15 / 24 / 42

    No public content-moderation transparency-report mandate.

    Source ↗
  • No such obligation

    Researcher data accessDSA Art. 40

    No researcher-access right.

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  • No such obligation

    Reach disclosureDSA Art. 24(2)

    No public reach-disclosure mandate.

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Accountability

  • Systemic risk assessmentDSA Art. 34–35

    Cabinet Res. 106/2026 requires platforms to run regular child digital-safety risk assessments (adopted, not yet in force); no general systemic-risk mandate.

    Source ↗
  • No such obligation

    Independent auditDSA Art. 37

    No independent compliance-audit mandate.

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  • No such obligation

    Algorithmic transparencyDSA Art. 27 / 38

    No recommender-transparency or non-profiling-feed mandate.

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  • Regulator + penaltiesDSA Art. 49–52, 74

    NMA/TDRA can warn, fine, block or shut down platforms and Media Law 55/2023 fines run AED 5,000-1,000,000, but for media-content and child-access compliance, not transparency.

    Source ↗

Child protection

  • No profiling ads to minorsDSA Art. 26(3) / 28

    Cabinet Res. 106/2026 bars profiling and targeted advertising to children (adopted, not yet in force).

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  • Age assuranceBeyond the DSA

    Cabinet Res. 106/2026 mandates age verification and a 15+ minimum age (adopted, 12-month compliance runway).

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  • Child-safety duty of careDSA Art. 28

    Cabinet Res. 106/2026 imposes child-safeguarding duties plus safety-risk assessments on platforms (not yet in force).

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Compare every jurisdiction

United Arab Emirates is one of 30 non-EU jurisdictions we scored against the DSA. See them all side by side.

The full comparisonThe DSA Enforcement Tracker