Strategy-led; binding data-protection lawThe UAE leads on AI strategy rather than binding AI legislation: it appointed the world's first Minister of State for AI in 2017 and runs the National Strategy for AI 2031. There is no federal AI Act, so AI obligations flow from data-protection law — Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 (the PDPL), overseen by the UAE Data Office, plus the financial-free-zone regimes DIFC (whose Data Protection Law No. 5 of 2020 has specific rules on autonomous and automated decision-making) and ADGM. Emirate-level instruments such as Dubai's 2024 Charter for the Development and Use of AI add voluntary ethics principles. Businesses should treat the PDPL and free-zone laws as the enforceable baseline while AI-specific rules remain policy.
Penalty: PDPL administrative fines set by Cabinet decision; DIFC fines up to US$100,000+ per contravention
Bills and instruments in United Arab Emirates whose own subject is artificial intelligence or automated decision-making, pulled automatically from the official legislature feed. See our scope definition.
Official AI frameworks, codes of conduct and guidelines in effect in United Arab Emirates. None of these is legislation and none creates a legal obligation by itself, so they are counted separately from binding law — never added to it. See our scope definition.
Smart Dubai AI Ethics Principles & Guidelines
The UAE Charter for the Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence
The UAE's International Stance on Artificial Intelligence Policy
ADGM and DIFC remain separate jurisdictions in the record store so their laws, regulators and enforcement sources are not mixed with federal UAE law. They are presented here as parts of the United Arab Emirates rather than as countries.
A financial free zone in Abu Dhabi with its own civil and commercial legal framework and Office of Data Protection. It is part of the UAE, not a country.
Enforcement publication surface: official regulator register. No AI-specific enforcement matter is claimed unless a qualifying decision is held in the enforcement corpus.
A financial free zone in Dubai with its own data-protection regime and Commissioner of Data Protection. It is part of the UAE, not a country.
Enforcement publication surface: official regulator register. No AI-specific enforcement matter is claimed unless a qualifying decision is held in the enforcement corpus.
Recent news coverage of AI regulation and policy in United Arab Emirates. Headlines are aggregated automatically; follow each link for the full story.
Coverage from bignewsnetwork.com on AI legislation and regulation relevant to United Arab Emirates.
Coverage from allAfrica.com on AI legislation and regulation relevant to United Arab Emirates.
Coverage from UNICEF on AI legislation and regulation relevant to United Arab Emirates.
Coverage from KOSU on AI legislation and regulation relevant to United Arab Emirates.
Coverage from Lompoc Record on AI legislation and regulation relevant to United Arab Emirates.
If you're a US company serving United Arab Emirates customers, you need to comply with both your state's AI laws and United Arab Emirates regulation.
Anchored to the primary government source (statute, bill text, or agency rule) and verified directly against it · Last verified Jun 18, 2026. See our methodology.
