As an IT leader, I witness firsthand how quickly students adopt new technologies, especially generative AI, to solve tasks. With the UAE recently issuing Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2025 Regarding Child Digital Safety, the landscape of digital education and student safety is about to shift significantly.
Here is a summary of the new law and how it impacts schools, platforms, and student data, effective from January 1, 2026.
1. Strict Data Protection for Students (Under 13) The law prohibits digital platforms from collecting or processing personal data of children under 13 without explicit, documented parental consent. Crucially for us in EdTech, platforms used for educational purposes are exempted from some of these strict commercial prohibitions, provided they take necessary measures to protect child safety and privacy.
2. Age Verification & Platform Classification We often worry about students accessing Gen AI tools intended for adults. The new law mandates that digital platforms operating in the UAE must adopt effective age-verification mechanisms. A new risk-based classification system will determine access controls for different age groups.
3. Preventing Harmful Content Platforms are now legally obligated to use technical measures—including artificial intelligence systems—to proactively detect and remove harmful content or child pornography. "Harmful content" is broadly defined to include anything adversely affecting a child's moral, psychological, or social values.
4. The Role of Educators The law establishes a "Child Digital Safety Council." A key part of their mandate is coordinating with educational authorities to implement awareness and training programs for teachers, students, and parents regarding digital safety and privacy.
5. Parental & Caregiver Responsibility Parents are legally required to use parental control tools and monitor their children's digital activity. They must not create accounts for children on platforms incompatible with their age group.
The Takeaway for IT Classrooms: While our students use Gen AI for tasks, the platforms hosting these models will now face stricter scrutiny regarding how they verify student ages and handle their data. As educators, our role in guiding responsible digital citizenship is now backed by a robust federal legal framework.
#EdTech #UAE #DigitalSafety #GenAI #Education #ChildProtection #ITTeaching
