On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia issued a new rule for non-Saudi online influencers who reside in the country, requiring them to refrain from posting any marketing content before obtaining official permission from authorities.
The decision that was issued and announced by the country's General Commission for Audiovisual Media explained that foreign influencers are not allowed to post promotional content or attend relevant events in the country unless they are granted permission to do so.
Justifying their decision, Saudi officials cited plans to "restrict violations" in the marketing industry as the main reason behind the most recent regulations.
#SaudiArabia :Rules tightened on foreign influencers posting social media content that can be regarded as advertising while in Kingdom-comes after recent incidents in which influencers were fined heavily- this as Saudi Arabia continues to encourage influencers in to boost tourism pic.twitter.com/MlhzNhQedz
— sebastian usher (@sebusher) June 7, 2022
They also referred to a number of violations by non-Saudi influencers with no permission to promote products or services, ones that have caused controversies in the country, to support the new rule.
The General Commission for Audiovisual Media also added that many online personalities who have a strong online presence do engage in paid marketing activities without having work permits in Saudi Arabia.
Moreover, Saudi officials highlighted that carrying out commercial activity in Saudi Arabia without having proper permits is a crime as per local laws, one that could land individuals in jail for up to five years, besides a fine that can be as high as 5 million Saudi Riyals ($1.3 million USD).
The new regulations come only a few days after Saudi-based Lebanese influencer Youmna Khoury, known as Dr. Youmi, was fined 400k Saudi Riyals (around $107,000 USD) after an online commercial for hookas, against Saudi laws.
