Parents who post photographs and videos of their children online risk harming child privacy in the UAE, psychologists and a wellbeing coach have warned, after an Abu Dhabi court ordered both parents in a divorce dispute to stop publishing their children’s images and remove existing content.
The court found that both parents had posted pictures of the children and ruled that the issue was not a dispute over who could share content, but the children’s right to privacy and protection, according to a Lexology report on the ruling.
When sharenting harms child privacy: a case from UAE practice
Wellbeing coach Dr Hanadi Al Jaber described a case in which a boy’s parents had been uploading videos of him to YouTube from a young age. When the teenager’s classmates discovered the footage, they used it to mock him, creating digital stickers from his images and mimicking the way he used to talk and laugh.
‘They created digital stickers from his photos, how he used to snore, how he used to talk, how he used to laugh,’ Al Jaber said.
The teasing became severe enough that the boy refused to attend school. When he asked his family to remove the videos, the process was not straightforward: the family ultimately had to seek legal intervention to force the content down. Al Jaber said the teenager experienced severe psychological distress and, at one point, began thinking about suicide.
‘When he made the content, he was a normal child. He didn’t understand, and he didn’t have a word to say yes or no,’ Al Jaber said. As he grew older, she added, his understanding of privacy changed and he asked his family to delete the videos.
New UAE laws place obligations on parents and platforms
The warnings come as the UAE tightens its legal framework around children’s online exposure. Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2025 on Child Digital Safety took effect on 1 January 2026, with covered entities required to comply by 1 January 2027. The law prohibits collecting or using the personal data of children under 13 without verifiable parental consent, and applies to digital platforms and internet service providers that operate in or target users in the UAE.
A separate Cabinet Resolution, No. 106 of 2026, issued on 17 June 2026 and effective from 30 June 2026, prohibits children under 15 from creating or operating personal accounts on social media platforms. Platforms have a 12-month transitional period to comply. Both instruments are detailed on the UAE Government’s children’s digital safety portal.
Analysis by Latham and Watkins notes that the decree-law requires digital platforms to implement AI systems for proactive detection and removal of harmful child content, and to submit periodic compliance reports. A review by Bird and Bird notes that a Child Digital Safety Council is to be established to coordinate policy, with implementing regulations, including penalties, to follow.
Background reporting by The Media Line notes that under the decree-law, caregivers are expressly obligated to monitor children’s digital activities and refrain from exposing children online in ways that threaten their privacy, dignity, or wellbeing.
Psychologists: ask whether the child would still consent at 15
Dr Amir Javaid, Director of Paediatric Psychiatry Services and Intellectual Disorders at Burjeel Medical City, said children should have increasing control over how they are represented online as they mature.
‘When their lives are extensively documented online before they can give informed consent, they may later experience embarrassment, loss of trust, or feel that their personal boundaries were not respected,’ Javaid said.
A recurring theme in his clinical practice, he said, was adolescents who ‘wanted greater ownership over their own digital identity.’ He said parents should ask whether they would be comfortable with the same information being shared about themselves, and apply that test to their children.
Psychologist Hiba Badawi drew a line between preserving family memories and using a child to generate income. ‘When this documentation turns into content creation and a project to earn profits and income, and the child becomes part of this project, here is the catastrophe,’ she said.
Al Jaber said parents should treat a child’s objection as a clear signal: if a child asks for a picture or video to be deleted, ‘parents should listen.’ The problem becomes greater, she added, when parents refuse because the content has acquired value through views, followers, or income.
Implementing regulations under Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2025, including the penalties for breach, are yet to be issued.
