Following the huge wave of AI-generated images with public figures across social media platforms, the UAE Media Council took a strict approach to protect the sanctity of official symbols and political figures. On 25th September 2025, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) published a post on X (formerly Twitter) confirming that the Media Council has called for strict compliance with laws and approved standards when depicting national symbols or political figures¹.

The statement of the UAE Media Council is understood to have followed instances where AI-generated content was shared on social media without proper consideration of its sensitivity. Such incidents invited a lot of criticism and called for a disciplinarian approach to reiterate the rules for such events. Matters of this nature are considered nationally significant, especially when symbols of unity and heritage are presented in the public domain without prior authorization.

Expanding upon its scope to deal with increasing AI misuses in the media field, the UAE Media Council signed a contract with Presight, an international data company, in May 2025². The scope of collaboration is to work on development of a new regulatory platform that will use AI to sieve through vast databases of licensed media companies and aggregators to identify content that violates the laws, values, and ideals of UAE. Therefore, it will ensure compliance with applicable laws, standards, and regulations.

It is right that every person has the freedom of expression; however, this right cannot be absolute. If absolute freedom of expression were allowed, there would be no privacy and accountability. To prevent such situations, the legal system in the UAE provides comprehensive provisions to deal with the implications of AI-generated content. The Media Council is the federal regulatory authority for all media and its related activities in all forms in the UAE. Some of the provisions that regulate such activities are discussed in detail below:

1. Article 17 of the Federal Law Decree No. 55 of 2023³ dealing with media regulations provides certain media content standards that every person must abide by. These standards are to be observed by every person who is involved in any activity in the field of media. One of these standards expressly states that the governance system, symbols, institutions and the interests of the State must be respected in all media activities.
2. The Cabinet Resolution No 68 of 2024⁴ has further elaborated on the implementation and regulatory details under the Federal Law Decree No. 55 of 2023. It provides the licensing requirements, eligibility and conditions for different media activities. In addition to the content standards under the main law, Article 28⁵ of the resolution requires adherence to specific requirements such as respecting the culture, identity and values of the UAE.
3. The above obligations under the main law and the resolutions are enforced through Cabinet Resolution No. 42 of 2025⁶ which provides the penalties for violation of the provisions of law related to media activities. It has led to the establishment of a committee for investigating into violations of media content standards and imposing administrative fines depending upon the gravity of violation. Some of these violations are as follows:
   1. Disrespecting the governance system, symbols, institutions and interests of the state is a Category A violation and can lead to imposition of fine amount ranging between AED 50,000 to AED 500,000 depending upon the severity level of violation committed.
   2. Publishing any content that undermines national cohesion, or unity can be fined between AED 30,000 to AED 250,000.
   3. Disrespecting the cultural heritage and the national identity of the state is a Category B violation and can be fined anywhere between AED 25,000 to AED 150,000.

Therefore, the everyday advancement of Artificial Intelligence and the scope of things that it can do has made it crystal clear that privacy of not only citizens but also of national figures is at risk. Not so long ago, AI was a tool for text generation but at a very fast pace it has moved on to image and even video creation. Advanced technology calls for advanced restrictions. Therefore, if no restrictions are imposed on this ever-expanding technology, the results could be devastating. Apart from the legal measures or state controls, the people also need to inculcate a moral responsibility to ensure that their actions do not lower or harm the dignity of their nation. We have seen an increased mobilization of thoughts and actions through social media platforms. However, it needs to be understood that social media is no longer a private space rather every action of an individual is in the eyeball of public attention. Therefore, we need to be careful and mindful while deciding our conduct on such public spaces.

¹UAE Media Council warns against misuse of AI and harmful depictions, WAM https://www.wam.ae/en/article/blvxe9y-uae-media-council-warns-against-misuse-harmful
²UAE Media Council awards Presight contract to launch smart platform for media services, WAM (27 September 2025) https://www.wam.ae/en/article/bjsbcjc-uae-media-council-awards-presight-contract-launch
³Federal Decree-Law No. 55 of 2023, art 17.
⁴Cabinet Resolution No. 68 of 2024 (Executive Regulation of Decree-Law No. 55 of 2023)
⁵Cabinet Resolution No. 68 of 2024 (Executive Regulation of Federal Decree-Law No. 55 of 2023), art 28.
⁶Cabinet Resolution No. 42 of 2025 (Administrative Violations and Penalties Regulation).

FAQs