Starting in October, social media influencers in the UAE will need a government permit before posting promotional content.
The UAE Media Council’s new regulations are expected to formalize the industry, and some within it view the move as a positive step that could accelerate payments from large companies to individual creators, as well as streamline taxation and other administrative processes.
Saudi Arabia already mandates a $4,000 fee for a three-year influencer license, and other Gulf countries are expected to follow as advertising increasingly (permanently?) shifts to user-generated content.