Abu dhabi: Participants in the ‘Child Digital Safety’ Forum, organized by the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department under the slogan ‘Towards a Safe and Sustainable Digital Environment for Future Generations’, discussed the legislative developments introduced by Federal Decree-Law No. (26) of 2025 concerning Child Digital Safety. This coincided with the law’s entry into force and aims to enhance the protection of children in the digital space and ensure a safe environment.
According to Emirates News Agency, this initiative is part of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department’s commitment to raising legal and judicial awareness of the new law’s provisions and clarifying the roles of relevant entities. The goal is to ensure the integration of roles among families, digital platforms, internet service providers, and judicial authorities.
The forum was held remotely via the virtual platform of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Academy over two days. It brought together experts and specialists from both local and international backgrounds. Attendees included lawyers, legal consultants, representatives from the technology and telecommunications sectors, governmental and regulatory bodies, as well as professionals from the educational and social sectors, child caregivers, and child protection specialists.
The forum sessions addressed several key themes. These included the legislative axis, which pertained to the law’s objectives, its scope of application, and mechanisms for classifying digital platforms according to risk levels. The technical and institutional axis focused on the obligations of digital platforms and internet service providers concerning age verification, data protection, and parental control tools. The social and family axis examined the role of child caregivers and legal responsibilities arising from negligence. Lastly, the judicial and security axis reviewed mechanisms for reporting unlawful content, blocking procedures, and the administrative penalties for violations.
Counsellor Mansour Al Marzouqi, President of the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court, moderated the sessions on the forum’s first day, which featured a series of presentations and discussions. Maryam bint Ahmed Al Hammadi, Minister of State and Secretary-General of the Cabinet, provided an analytical overview of the Federal Decree-Law No. (26) of 2025, its governance framework, and the proposed vision for the platform classification system.
Dr. Ahmed Abdel Zaher, Legal Adviser at the Technical Office of the Undersecretary of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, focused on digital protection tools and technologies, age verification mechanisms, and parental control tools in his presentation titled ‘Smart Child Protection: Parental Authority in the Digital Age’. Judge Colleen O’Toole, former Appeal Court Judge and former Public Prosecutor in the United States of America, discussed ‘Human Rights in the Child’s Digital Environment’, emphasizing the legal obligations of parents, privacy limits, and risks associated with children’s exposure through digital platforms.
Dr. Sami Ismail Al Tokhi, Director of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Academy, presented a paper titled ‘The Abu Dhabi Legislative Laboratory for Child Protection’, reviewing experimental legislative mechanisms, digital safety assessment indicators, and methods for enforcing the new law through cooperation between judicial, governmental, and civil entities.