BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 18. Egypt has introduced new rules barring children under the age of 13 from having independent social media accounts and requiring mandatory safety restrictions for users aged 13 to under 15.
The measures were introduced through a joint decision by Egypt’s Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR) and the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA), following directives from President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi aimed at strengthening protections for children and young people online.
Under the new rules, social media platforms are prohibited from creating, activating or providing independent personal accounts for children younger than 13.
Users aged 13 to under 15 may continue to have social media accounts, but platforms must automatically activate a mandatory “Safe Mode”. Children in this age group will not be able to disable the safety setting on their own.
Platforms will also be required to introduce effective and proportionate age-verification mechanisms and prevent attempts to circumvent the age restrictions. The verification process must comply with personal-data protection principles and minimize the amount of information collected.
The decision also requires companies to review existing accounts and take appropriate measures where an account is confirmed or reasonably believed to belong to a user under 15. Platforms must provide a clear appeals procedure for correcting age information in cases of error.
Khaled Abdel Aziz, chairman of the SCMR, said the measures are intended not to deprive children of technology but to ensure that they use it in a safe, responsible and age-appropriate environment. Authorities highlighted harmful content, exploitation, cyberbullying, harassment and blackmail among the risks the measures seek to address.
Social media companies have been given up to three months to comply with the requirements. They must also submit an implementation plan and technical and operational timetable within 30 days of being formally notified of the decision.
