All You Need To Know About The Latest KSA Influencer Legislations

As of 1 October 2022, all Saudi and non-Saudi individuals in KSA are required to obtain a media licence for paid collaborations on social media.?We compiled a list of the most asked questions and answers about?the latest legislations for both brands and influencers.

What collaborations are included within these regulations?

The regulations?are applicable to any type of content that?directly or indirectly promotes a brand/product/service with something in return, which can be cash, gift, invitation, etc. This is applicable for the below:

• Paid collaborations
• Seeding campaigns
• Barter deal collaborations
• Event coverage (attending an event without posting about it does not require any permits. However, covering the event would require licenses)
• Commission-based collaborations

Who is required to obtain a licence?

Individuals above 18 years old who are promoting any type of brand, product or service on any public social account.

All?Saudi nationals?who are living in Saudi Arabia or residing outside Saudi Arabia

All?non-Saudi individuals?who are:

• living in Saudi Arabia
• residing outside Saudi Arabia but are promoting an event, service or brand available in KSA
• residing outside Saudi Arabia but are visiting the Kingdom for a limited time to support an activation or attend an event
• Talents who are under agencies must obtain individual licences as the agency license is not valid for this.

How do talents apply for a licence?

• For Saudi influencers, they can apply for it through the General Commission for Audiovisual Media website and pay a SAR15,000 (AED14,670) fee for a time period of 3 years.
• For non-Saudi influencers, they must apply for an investment license, followed by a trade license and media license, and finally "Mawthooq" which is the new KSA license.

Can the talent?publish while their licence status is 'under progress'?

• If the talent applied for the licence prior to 1 October 2022, they can resume publishing, only if the status on the platform is 'under progress' while ensuring #ad is added on the posts.?However, we noticed that talents are still hesitant to publish regardless of this exception. We would need to have a conversation with talents that fall within this category and revert with feedback which should be documented in writing.
• If the talent applied for the licence post 1 October 2022, they must wait until the licence is officially obtained and cannot resume publishing in the interim.

If the talent is organically posting about a brand/product/service without?anything in return (no gift, no discount, no cash, etc), is this applicable to them?

If the talent is organically sharing reviews about products/services without any contract with the brands to push for their products/services, the content piece will be assessed by the relevant authorities and may be exempted; however it is safer that all talents obtain the licenses to avoid fines.

Who will get a fine if a talent?promotes a brand without a licence?

The relevant authorities will assess this on a case by case basis and the fines may be split among the talent, the agency and the brand/company. The fines can go up to SAR10M depending on the violation that occurred.

If brands publish videos on social media featuring talents, do the talents need to be licensed?

Yes, if brands publish videos online or on social media which include content creators and talents, they must ensure these talents have obtained their required license prior to going live.

If the talent has a legal contract with a brand a year ago, can they resume promoting this particular brand without obtaining the licence, given that the regulations were published recently?

No, all talents must obtain the licence regardless of the contract's date.

To conclude, before?proceeding with any collaborations to promote products or services in KSA, it is important to adhere to the latest regulations by checking the official website of?Mawthooq?in KSA. It is worth noting that these regulations might change or be tweaked, given that this is a transition period. Furthermore, due to the high capacity of applications, there is no clear timeline of how long it takes influencers to obtain their licenses.