UAE Unveils Groundbreaking Digital Safety Initiative for Youth in Partnership with Meta
The launch of the new digital feature comes within the framework of the commitment of the UAE government and its partners in global social media platforms, to provide a safer digital environment for adolescents, and enhance their privacy and their psychological and behavioral quality of life.
The Digital Wellbeing Council , chaired by Lt. General HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, announced the launch of Meta a new feature, the first of its kind in the region, to protect teenagers from inappropriate or unwanted content, ensuring a safe and age-appropriate digital experience, as part of initiatives that support the noble principles and values adopted by the UAE.
Lt. General HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, stressed that the UAE adopts the creation of an integrated digital environment that enhances the quality of life of individuals and communities, based on the directives and visions of the wise leadership to build an advanced development model supported digitally, which empowers people with the tools of the future.
His Highness said that the quality of digital life in the UAE goes beyond access to smart services or advanced infrastructure, to include building a safe and balanced digital culture that ensures the protection of present and future generations and provides them with the knowledge and skills that qualify them to interact positively with changing technologies, and build a digital Emirati society based on values, awareness, and responsible citizenship, ensuring that the digital space is a supportive environment for growth and progress and creating a global model that achieves a balance between technological progress and quality of life.
The launch of the new digital feature comes within the framework of the commitment of the UAE government and its partners in global social media platforms, to provide a safer digital environment for adolescents, and enhance their privacy and their psychological and behavioral quality of life, through a set of smart tools and settings that reduce their exposure to negative content, and achieve a safe and sustainable digital environment for all that reflects the aspirations of the country and meets the needs of future generations.
The new feature, which will be applied in Meta’s Instagram platform, trains algorithms to detect unwanted material for adolescents, provides smart and customized monitoring tools for parents, and provides an interactive environment that respects privacy and stimulates conscious and responsible use of modern technologies, enhancing the quality of digital life and reducing behavioral challenges and negative content.
The launch event witnessed the organization of a youth circle with the participation of Lt. General HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, and the presence of Her Excellency Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri, Minister of Education, His Excellency Abdullah Sultan bin Awwad Al Nuaimi, Minister of Justice, Her Excellency Sana bint Mohammed Suhail, Minister of Family, His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, His Excellency Dr. Sultan Saif Al Neyadi, Minister of State for Youth Affairs, and His Excellency Dr. Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili. Chairman of the Department of Community Development in Abu Dhabi, His Excellency Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, Director General of Digital Dubai, Her Excellency Maitha Majid Al Suwaidi, Executive Director of the Media Strategy and Policy Sector at the Emirates Media Council, Her Excellency Dr. Hessa Al Kaabi, Director of the Executive Affairs Office at the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority, representatives of Meta, members of the Digital Wellbeing Council, and a number of youth and social influencers.
The event also launched a guide to using the new digital feature, which provides the necessary tools for parents to manage the discussion with their children and explains the importance of the feature in protecting teenagers’ digital security.
A roundtable was held for members of the Digital Wellbeing Council, experts, decision-makers and representatives of the private sector, to share views and develop recommendations that enhance integration between sectors, ensuring the acceleration of the adoption of innovative solutions and achieving a sustainable impact that meets the aspirations of the future.
The meeting discussed the role of governments in defining safety and privacy principles, identifying potential gaps and challenges in Instagram’s policies, mechanisms for developing and improving policies on digital security and safety, ensuring the privacy of adolescents, ways to support the development of future national policy frameworks, and enhancing opportunities for cooperation with the private sector to ensure that policies keep pace with future changes.
The Digital Wellbeing Council held a specialized workshop for teenagers, parents and influencers with the aim of raising awareness of the use of the feature and its importance to protect teenagers’ digital security.
The Digital Wellbeing Council focuses in its tasks on keeping pace with changes and following up on developments in the digital world locally and globally, and their impact on the work of governments, in order to proactively move to support and regulate digital life.
The Council’s tasks include harmonizing plans and efforts among government entities at the level of the UAE to develop initiatives and programs that enhance the digital wellbeing for all segments of society, reviewing legislation and laws and assessing the need to update them, studying proposals submitted by government agencies in this field, in addition to communicating with international institutions concerned with digital wellbeing and the safety of the digital society.
