Parents who share photographs or videos of their children online could face serious legal consequences after an Abu Dhabi court ordered two divorced parents to delete content featuring their daughters and warned that future breaches could lead to imprisonment or even the loss of joint custody.
In what lawyers describe as a landmark judgment, the Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court ruled that both parents must stop publishing their children’s photographs, videos and personal information online, remove existing content deemed harmful to the children’s best interests and refrain from creating social media accounts in their names without mutual consent.
The decision was based on the UAE’s Wadeema Child Rights Law, which places a child’s privacy and welfare above parental disagreements.
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“It’s the first judgment we are aware of in which a UAE court has ordered both parents to stop posting their children on social media and to delete existing content,” Byron James, partner at Expatriate Law, who represented the father in the case, told Khaleej Times.
“What makes it striking is that the court restrained the winning party too. This was about the children’s rights, not the parents’ dispute.”
The father originally asked the court to stop the mother from using the children on digital platforms, including for alleged commercial and promotional purposes. However, the mother argued that the father had also shared content featuring the children.
Rather than siding with one parent, the court found that neither had fully met their obligations to protect the children’s privacy and ordered both to stop publishing content that could harm them.
James said the judgment deliberately avoids focusing on the parents’ identities or social media profiles.
“The judgment refers to photographs and audio recordings of the children published online, including alleged commercial and promotional use of them on digital platforms,” he said.
“Beyond that we won’t add details the court itself didn’t publish, precisely because the whole point of the case is the children’s privacy.”
Protecting children’s welfare
Although the father’s original claim referred to alleged commercial exploitation of the children, James said the final ruling goes much further.
“Commercial use was the aggravating feature, not the boundary of the ruling,” he said.
“The final orders prohibit any publication that harms the children — monetised or not — and required deletion of existing content. Parents shouldn’t take comfort from the absence of a sponsorship deal.”
The court’s reasoning was based on legal principles rather than expert psychological evidence. “There was no battle of experts,” James said.
“The court reviewed the material the parties submitted and applied the Child Rights Law, known as Wadeema, noting in particular that these are girls whose privacy, bodily integrity and reputation require protection.”
“Its position was that exposing children online in this way is harmful in principle. You don’t need a psychologist’s report to reach that conclusion.”
The judgment also warns that if either parent breaches the order in the future, the other parent may return to court to seek further action, with possible penalties extending to imprisonment or the removal of joint custody.
Warning to all parents
James believes parents across the UAE should pay close attention.
“All parents,” he said, when asked who the ruling should concern.
“The court applied the UAE Child Rights Law, which protects every child’s privacy, dignity and safety. Commercial exploitation makes it worse, but you don’t need a million followers to breach it. And nothing in the reasoning limits it to divorced parents either.”
He added that while the order binds only the parents involved in the case, organisations should also take note.
“A parent who lets a brand, school or grandparent publish the child’s image could find themselves in breach. Any business featuring children in the UAE should now be asking for both parents’ written consent.”
For parents wondering what they should do now, James recommends reviewing what is already online. “Audit what’s already online about your children and delete anything you wouldn’t want a judge to see,” he said.
“Get your co-parent’s agreement in writing before posting anything new, and never open accounts in a child’s name without it. And apply the simple test: would your child thank you for this post at eighteen?” said the laywer.
