Egyptian regulators mandate age-based child protection on social media platforms

Egypt's media and telecom regulators issued a joint decision obligating social media platforms to apply age-based protections for users under 15, following presidential directives.

• The Supreme Council for Media Regulation and the National Telecom Regulatory Authority issued a joint decision requiring platforms to protect users under 15, following President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's directives.
• Under the rules, platforms must not create accounts for children under 13, and must activate a mandatory, automatically enabled Safe Mode that users aged 13 to 14 cannot disable.
• Platforms have three months to comply and must submit an implementation plan within 30 days of the decision's publication.
• National Telecom Regulatory Authority deputy head Mohamed Ibrahim said the authority will intensify awareness campaigns for the "Etman" and "Etman Ala al-Akhar" services that block harmful content for children.
• The National Telecom Regulatory Authority began applying the initiative in July, launching the 'Itmain' and 'Itmain Aala Al-Akhar' services with the four mobile operators.
• A senior communications official said the services have registered tens of thousands of subscribers alongside extensive media awareness campaigns.
• The 'Itmain Aala Al-Akhar' service additionally blocks social media apps for a higher level of protection.
• The decision likewise mandates age verification to prevent children from circumventing the protections, the regulators stipulated.
• Platforms must regularize accounts of under-15s already in existence within the three-month compliance period.
• Officials Khaled Abdel Aziz and Mohamed Shamroukh said the measures ensure safe technology use without isolating children from digital progress.