News

Saudi Arabia To Require Individuals To Procure Social Media Ad Licenses

To avoid financial penalties, individuals publishing ads on social media platforms are required to obtain a license before October 1, 2022.

Published

4 years ago

August 5, 2022

David Morelo

saudi arabia to require individuals to procure social media licenses

Soon, it will be more difficult for individuals in Saudi Arabia to advertise on social media because the Saudi Arabian government has decided to make it mandatory for those publishing ads on social media platforms to obtain social media ad licenses.

“This move would contribute to regulate the advertising sector and digital content in the Kingdom,” said acting Minister of Media Dr. Majed Al-Qasabi.

One license will cost SR15,000 ($4,000), and it will be valid for three years. Applications will be accepted through the I’lam platform, and they will be available to all Saudi citizens living in the Kingdom or abroad as well as to the citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates).

One Saudi influencer, Abdullah Al-Sabaa, has already applied for his license, and he said that the entire process took only a few minutes. Sabaa believes that the move will help regulate the advertising market on social media — something he sees as a positive development.

With each license come certain conditions and obligations that must be fulfilled. For example, license holders will be required to provide any data requested by the General Commission for Audiovisual Media, and they must stop advertising any content prohibited by a directive issued by the commission.

Also Read: Dubai’s Finance Strategy For 2026 Hopes To Achieve Financial Sustainability

To avoid financial penalties, individuals publishing ads on social media platforms are required to obtain a license before October 1, 2022.

The United Arab Emirates already requires individuals to obtain a similar license. The UAE license also costs $4,000, but it’s valid only for one year instead of three.

The global social media advertising market was valued at a little over $180 billion in 2021, and it’s estimated that it will reach $330 billion by 2025. What are your thoughts on social media ad licenses?

News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.