Federal Law No. 55 Concerning Media Regulation entered into force in December 2023, and its Executive Regulations, Cabinet Resolution No. 68 of 2024, establishing its operating framework, followed in October 2024. Now, two further Cabinet Resolutions have come into force. Cabinet Resolution No. (41) of 2025, on media service fees and Cabinet Resolution No. (42) of 2025 regarding administrative violations and penalties.
The penalties include:
- General Violations: Fines ranging from AED 5,000 to AED 40,000 for activities such as operating without a license, providing inaccurate information, or violating advertising regulations.
- Content-Related Violations: A tiered system of fines for a wide range of breaches, including breaching media content standards, categorized by severity, with the largest fine set at 1,000,000AED.
- Escalating Penalties: Repeat offenders may face doubled fines and other administrative sanctions for certain offences.
Committee Oversight: A dedicated Committee for Violations of Media Content Standards will assess content-related violations and determine appropriate penalties.
Data Privacy Strengthened: in keeping with the UAE’s focus on protecting the rights of individuals, failing to respect the rules of privacy and everything related to the private lives of individuals now carries a penalty of AED 20,000AED for first a first offence and AED 40,000 for a second offence.
Media organizations and professionals should take note of the new fines and penalties and carefully review the media law and its associated regulations to ensure compliance and mitigate risk.Should you require further advice in relation to this development, please contact Victoria Woods, Julie Beeton or Diana Froyland in our TMT team.